Honoring Recovery

National Recovery Month

September is National Recovery Month.  Recovery is about exercising one’s determination to improve from a physical, mental or emotional condition, often referred to as the disease of addiction/alcoholism.  Since the DSM-V lists these diseases as forms of mental illness, I would argue it is safe to say we can recover from mental illnesses this month too.

Can this happen without God consciousness?  Some would argue, “Yes.” 

I disagree.

Around the 1300s, the word “recover” meant to “regain consciousness.”  Back in the early 15^th century, the word recovery had a different meaning too.  It meant “a gaining possession of something by legal action.”  That is the Latin meaning of the term “recovery” according to the Online Etymology Dictionary.  Even more interesting is what the dictionary says next – “the act of righting oneself after a mishap, blunder, etc.”

A successful, peace-filled existence is certainly dependent on a person’s relationship to God.  Nowadays we call it, “God consciousness.”  And for those who profess knowing Christ, it is through His power we can right ourselves after making poor decisions or surviving childhood trauma.

Author: Andy Dean Photography

What if, as a society, we embraced the idea that we are spiritual beings intended to live our lives conscious of God’s presence?  What if this idea were taught in schools today?  Or, if it were a mandatory lesson in each home? 

Maybe there would be less adverse childhood events for people to recover from because their daily existence would be rooted in the awareness that God is ever present and seeking our daily communion.

An awareness of God operating in one’s life and on my behalf can be a comforting thought.  Some people, however, blame God for all their troubles, so forming a relationship with the Divine Source can be troublesome.

Often, it is the message of hope from other people that draws us into a solid relationship with God.  Hearing God through other people happens when people share in meetings or testify in church that their lives improved because they surrendered and formed a relationship with God.  It is here, in these safe spaces listening to the transparency of another’s soul that recovery is accomplished.  Finding God, many times, is sustained in a group context, such as 12-step programs, faith communities and other safe spaces. 

In these places, a broken soul can begin the journey to regain what was lost:  peace, stability, sanity and a sense of wholeness.

Our identities are often damaged during childhood, not strengthened.  The field of psychology refers to “adverse childhood events” as the cause of brokenness and poor identity formation.  For those of us who have suffered damaged self-identities due to adverse childhood events, reclaiming possession of our thoughts from negative influences is a huge step in the right direction.  Beginning to create a self-identity that is in harmony with one’s personal values and morals is a joyous and arduous process.  It is labeled as recovery.

The same can be said when we stop harmful acts towards self in order to move into a place of wellness.  Group counseling sessions, medication, bible study, prayer and meditation are great tools to sustain a person’s recovery.  But, often it is the one-on-one relationship with God that lays the foundation and secures emotional stability.   Wrestling with his will, understanding God’s ways and allowing God to guide us into right behavior are certainly examples of God consciousness.

It is important to note that anytime we individually pursue our recovery, we are saying to ourselves, “I have the legal and spiritual right to be happy and live at peace with myself.”  We are in essence telling the disease of addiction and our naysayers that “even in my brokenness, I am worthy of being loved and demonstrating I care for myself.” 

I support National Recovery Month as it seeks to honor those who are recovering from any mental disorder and disease of addiction/alcoholism.  Recovery can be a lifelong process filled with many lessons, let downs and stories.  But when our local and foreign communities support us, they are in essence saying, “I see you growing and it looks good on you.”

Are you doing anything to support anyone in recovery?  If so, please share what you are doing in the comments section below.

Be blessed, 

M

Seek Wise Counsel

 Finding your Way to Wisdom in a Noisy World

When imbalance, anxiety and confusion rule a recovering person’s thoughts, it is hard to know who to trust.  In fact, when to trust can be confusing too.

Stuart Miles

For many people recovering from mental illnesses and substance abuses, the God found in Christ is their Higher Power.  Granted, some people are even open to the idea that God speaks through people and events.  That means the silent questions on our heart are unexpectedly answered in conversations with others.  An answer is also found in a poem, bumper sticker or the words of a song.   

And, when in recovery, there is a growing awareness that we need to be guided into a new way of thinking and living in order to stop harming ourselves, or, at the very least, ignoring our needs.

That’s why prayer is two parts:  talking and listening.  While we can ask God questions and share our concerns too, it is also important to know (discern) when God is answering.

Since being wise is defined as having the ability to make a good decision, the Word of God is a good place to search for guidance on who and when to trust others for advice. 

This article on How to Seek Wise Counsel is a good place to start.  But what was equally important in my recovery was trusting my own inner urge, my instinct or some would say, my inner voice. 

Gently and ever so softly, I can hear my soul speak.  It is guiding me to a place or a person that has information, awareness, comfort or counsel.  In other words, I am being guided to a healthy source.  This Source is designed to 1) help support my recovery; and 2) affirm my existence on earth.

Maybe it is an urge to go to an AA/NA meeting.  Maybe it is a knowing that my therapy sessions should be increased.  Or, it is this strong impression that I should not go to the mall today, but instead visit a friend.  Whatever we come to know in our soul is what we should do, the message communicated will line up with God’s Word.  And, God will come by and let you know he has confirmed those specific instructions when someone else confirms what you heard God say.

God will never guide us to lie, cheat, harm or steal.  In fact, God’s thoughts of peace towards us are designed to bring us to an expected end – a place of his choosing that is fruitful.  (Jeremiah 29:11)

Yes, seek wise counsel.  But know that God needs us to participate in the process too.  Take time to discern what God is saying to you (Proverbs 1:5) and then discuss it with those wise people you trust (Proverbs 11:14) to confirm the path of righteousness we are destined to travel.

A Place of Belonging

Conferences, Conventions and Community in 12-step Programs

What I find most exhilarating about being a member of a 12-step program is that there is one place on this earth that understands my weaknesses, shortcomings and potential.  Being in the room with other recovering persons, without concerns about professional standing, economic wealth or gender, is such a relief.  I can be me, the sick person I am who seeks wellness with little or no judgment from my peers.

But the best part about being in recovery, for me, are the conferences.  Boy oh boy, they are so much fun.  We gather to hear the message of recovery from each other, relate to each other’s past, present and future, while participating in healthy activities like karaoke, dancing, buffet dinners, comedy shows and more.  It is the part of our fellowship that society knows nothing about and will never hear about because they are so busy judging our label and disease.

Stuart Miles

Needless to say, the recent attendance at a conference brought me joy.  I am so happy for the opportunity to be rejuvenated, loved by my peers who have similar pasts and presents, and to hear many, many messages of hope rooted in one simple fact:  We Do Recover.

If you have never been to a conference and are in recovery, I suggest you find one and enjoy yourself.  Meet new people, try new things and know that our bad days end and new days unfold if we stay in the process of positive, healthy self-care.

We recover in community.  We get better.  We reclaim our place in our own lives when we connect with others who inspire us, love us and speak truth to us in ways we can’t do alone. 

Be blessed.

M

Recovery Day of Prayer

Guidepost Magazine has chosen to focus today’s communication with God in lifting up prayers for those who struggle with addictions and manage their recovery.  The Addiction and Recovery Day of Prayer event utilizes Psalm 147:3 as its scriptural context.

            As I studied this Word, I was delighted to hear my spirit singing praises unto God for His goodness.  The psalmist wrote this kind of praise is beautiful and fitting.  And, since I am a person in recovery, praising God is very fitting and appropriate for deliverance from the bondage of addiction.  In fact, even in maintaining my deliverance by strategically remaining in the recovery process is worth praising God too! 

            It is excellent and appropriate to praise God when those who have been afflicted (broken hearted) are healed.  The inner heart does experience brokenness that is so deep and hurtful that some people turn to self-destructive addictions to cope with the pain, the trauma and their reality.  Oh, how deep pain can run.

            So we pray that the God who rebuilds, gathers and heals will restore and recover those who are broken.  We humbly ask God to heal the wounds of the afflicted by placing bandages and salve on their private, damage innermost places. 

Oh, God, only you know their unique pain.  You hear the specific sounds and words trapped in the tears and angry words of each star you have created. 

Please, as we lift up each star by name today, heal their secret and public wounds.  Help them gather together the disconnected pieces of their soul.  Guide them into safe places where they will find strong systems of support for their recovery.

            You, you alone have the unlimited strength to perform such great and marvelous acts.  In fact, your greatness is so incomprehensible to us that when we get to see fallen stars on their feet again, we are utterly amazed.

            Nevertheless, we will sing praises before, during and after we watch you miraculously deliver our loved ones from addiction.  We know we can depend on your supernatural strength to reclaim those that are lost and make firm their footsteps.

            In Jesus’ name we pray…Amen!

Spirituality Helps Achieve A Balanced Mental Health

“It is not that ‘spirituality can cure depression, but [that it] may provide a

grounding in the midst of despair…”

~ Rev. John Parker Maxwell, Baltimore’s First Unitarian Church

                One of my personal, working definitions of spirituality is “engaging my faith in God to help me remain hopeful about the future.”  Another one is, “using my relationship with God to cope with daily life experiences.”

                Depression and anxiety are my normal, habitual responses to life events.  Denying the existence of these conditions leads me back to self-destructive responses when life seems too much to bear.  Therefore, I tap into my relationship with God as an additional support to manage my mental health.

                Now, many people believe that faith or spirituality alone is all a person needs to achieve a balanced, mental state.  I tried it that way.  It doesn’t work for me. 

                For me, I need to exercise my faith and step outside my comfort zone, and society’s expectations, to take care of me.  For this reason, therapy, medication and attendance at 12-step meetings are the additional tools and resources necessary for my continuous, uninterrupted recovery from my co-occurring disorders.  I use those tools in conjunction with prayer, medication and reading the Word of God.

                If the church, as Jayson Bradley states in his blog post, Sinners Anonymous: Less Church, More Recovery, could successfully minister to ALL people struggling with mental illness and addictions, then “outsiders would come to us for sanctuary from themselves.”

                I’m a member of the clergy and learned, a long time ago, not to share my personal pain and emotional struggles with many people in the church.  The church’s hands-off approach towards mental illness feeds the stigma and pushes those of us who seek to reconcile our weakness with our faith -- outside the doors of the church.  Is this really what Christ intended?

                I think not.

                So, many days, I practice my spirituality in private by listening to sermons on YouTube, reading the Word of God and speaking with my therapist, in detail, about myself, my thinking, my behavior, weaknesses and struggles in light of my perceptions of God and how the Word impacts my thinking and behavior.  So far, so good.  I’m healing one day at a time.

                The results of my faith grounding me looks like my mind is more settled, I am causing harm to myself less often and I have taken several steps away from self-destructive thoughts and behaviors.  I’m not cured yet, but, I am on the path of recovery from co-occurring disorders. 

Yes, “they” also forgot to tell us depression and anxiety can be cured with an 80% success rate! 

So, this post is a word of encouragement to those of us that are not “normal” and need to creatively sustain our productive, healthy existence on earth.  Remember, We Do Recover! Therefore, creatively use your faith to ground you in your recovery and sustain you in managing life.

Be Blessed,

M