Sallie Dawkins

Ten years ago, I self-enrolled in Celebrate Recovery for food addictions. I had a severe problem with sugar and could eat an entire jar of peanut butter in one sitting. I might try to throw a half-eaten jar of peanut butter into the trash, but often, by the end of the day, I’d have dug it out of the trash and finished it off. A year later, I still had issues with binge eating, but I learned two fundamental lessons.
 

The first lesson involved accountability. Where discipleship or mentorship was lacking in the church, having an accountability partner changed my life. My accountability partner and I connected day or night; no topic was off-limits. I share how God connected me with my first accountability partner in the Awakening Christian Series. We’re still friends to this day.
 

The Celebrate Recovery program required accountability and partnership. The course materials were full of scriptures and encouraged meditating on those scriptures, followed by a time of self-reflection. In some churches and communities, that concept is similar to how Sunday School or Bible Study groups work, but not all churches offer Sunday School, Bible Studies, or Life Groups.
 

Celebrate Recovery attendees gather together for worship every week, followed by a short teaching video, then break into smaller groups for study or sharing. Each person has a couple of minutes to share whatever they want. Still, feedback is generally limited to “Thank you for sharing.”
 

Sometimes, we crave easy answers. or seek to avoid accepting responsibility for our choices, words, or actions. Celebrate Recovery helped me to grow in accountability and provided essential tools for growing in faith.


 

Still, after that year was up, I never went back. I didn’t feel the need to keep rehashing my issues with people week after week. I learned to take all things to God.
 

At some point, God took away my cravings for binge eating. He’s brought healing to my life in many ways in the past decade. I found these coins by sorting through boxes of treasures today, and I’m praising the Lord for how far He’s brought me. Truly, I’m not the same person I once was, yet His love for me has never changed.
 

As we near the end of another calendar year, it’s a beautiful time to reflect on how much we’ve grown or how far we’ve come in life.
 

If you’re still struggling in any area of life, remember that our God is always with us, and all things are possible with Him. There is always hope, and you are loved more than you know.
 

Many Americans will vow to lose weight at the beginning of the new year. Coming off the sugar high of the Nov/Dec holidays is a good idea, but remember, the number on the scale is a false weight. It measures something, but it’s not your identity. Your body is a temple inhabited by God’s Spirit. A good starting point for the new year is to refresh what you know about health. If you want to grow healthier, perhaps when you’re at the grocery store or eating out, you might ask yourself, “Would a healthy person eat this?” Try to eat more nutrient-dense foods or start juicing vegetables. Consider partnering with an accountability buddy, and invite God to help you grow in the life-giving fruits of the Spirit (including self-control.) As we age, we must develop more intentionality in these areas.
 

To all my fellow sojourners, I pray you will prosper and be in good health, even as your soul prospers, in Jesus’ Name.

Amen.