Addiction: Why can’t I forgive myself?
Recovering addicts are disturbed by memories. Although they are now sober, memories of the consequences of their addiction arise as uninvited guests.
These memories cause intense shame and guilt. Many addicts tell me they won’t be fully recovered until they can forgive themselves. I presume this means that the memories will fade, or they will no longer produce feelings of shame and worthlessness.
This post will consider three solutions to the problem of painful memories.
Director’s Notes: The Problem of Scale
Scaling a business is clean compared to scaling a ministry. In business, consumer demand is the wind in the scaling sail. Get the product right, and consumer demand will fill the sail. The business grows locally because of increased demand, or the business can franchise itself to enter other markets.
That’s not to say that scaling is inevitable in a business. A business owner must want to scale. And a business owner has to juggle the job of running the business with the job of scaling. Of course that also means juggling the financing of the business with the financing of the scaling. Even in the most profitable business, bootstrapping is rare. Investors, venture capitalists, or a simple bank can provide the funds to manage the jump from a solo entrepreneur to a business that grows.
But how does scale happen in a ministry like Resilient Recovery Ministries?
Director’s Notes: A house divided almost ends a Recovery group
I’ve been worried about one of the houses where I conduct Resilient Recovery Groups. At one time, things were going so well that the owner volunteered to financially support the ministry. That felt great!
What hasn’t felt so great is the way the group has gone for the last 4 -6 weeks. First COVID hit the home and I was unable to see my peeps for two weeks. When the COVID outbreak passed, something had changed.
The group was in disarray—fractured and full of anger at the staff.
What can make me stop drugs and alcohol?
Most recovery programs use pain and consequences to improve a person’s motivation to quit using drugs and alcohol. Pain and consequences come in many varieties. There are legal pain and consequences, health pain and consequences, and relationship pain and consequences. School and work can also deliver pain and consequences. Even Religion threatens its own set of pain and consequences.
But, I want to suggest that mercy and grace are more effective motivators.
A simple test: Am I drinking too much?
A simple, interactive test can tell you if your drinking is risky to your health.
