Steps to Recovery

Saints, I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I am Kimberly Johnson Garner. My husband (Tamus), my daughter (Journee) and I are very grateful to be a part of the Trinity Missionary Baptist Church family. We have been members of Trinity since 2016, and we are growing more in Christ every day. I am excited to serve you during the month of  September 2021, while Pastor Crenshaw is on sabbatical leave.

September has been designated as Recovery Month and I have experienced recovery at several different stages in my life. The dictionary defines recovery as returning to a normal state of health, mind, or strength. I define recovery as returning to normalcy after a season of disequilibrium. Recovery can also mean the actions of a process of regaining possession or control of something stolen or lost. A recovery is a potent tool in rebuilding a person’s life after adversity, misfortune, and tragedy. Right now, we (our entire world) are struggling to recover and restore our lives back to some normalcy after living with the Covid-19 Pandemic for almost two years. Sometimes when you hear the word recovery, you might  think of an alcoholic or a drug addict, and a person going through a twelve-step drug or alcohol rehab program. But the recovery that I am referring to is more spiritual and mental.

When things shut down worldwide because of COVID-19, we all were at a point like, what now? In my entire life, I had never experienced anything like that before. During this time, everyone experienced different things. Some people experienced being home alone and not being able to go out and be around people. Some experienced being at home with their family and being able to interact with them and do family activities. But we should all be able to agree that Covid-19 made us slow down, look at our relationship with God and try to reclaim the closeness that many of us had lost.  

Joshua 1:19 says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

When we are going through recovery, we need to look to God and look within the scriptures for help and encouragement. In Psalms 18:2-6, David speaks of the strength, safety, and deliverance he received from God in his time of sorrow and fear. At some point in our lives, we all go through tough times. But, the Lord knows that we can become more robust through suffering, endurance, and our ability to overcome life’s struggles. Knowing there is always a chance for renewal and recovery, gives us courage to persevere and hope that God’s love will sustain us.

While there is no finite timeline for recovery, eventually, we will reach the other side. Times of healing are also opportunities for emotional, spiritual, and physical growth. When going through recovery, we can look at the 12 Steps Scriptural Rally: 1) Romans 7:18, we admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable. 2) In Philippians 2:13, we came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 3) Romans 12:1, we decided to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God. 4) Lamentations 3:40, we made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. 5) James 4:10, we admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. 6) James 4:10, we were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. 7) John 1:9, we humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings. 8) Luke 6:31, we do others the way we want to be treated. 9) Matthew 5:23-24, we made direct amends to such people whenever possible. 10) 1 Corinthians 10:12, we continue to take personal inventory and, when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. 11) Colossians 3:16, we sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and power to carry that out. 12) Galatians 6:1, having had a spiritual experience as the result of these steps, we try to carry this message to others and practice these principles in all our affairs.

When we look at recovery, we should be willing to start a new normal in our lives even though this process is not easy. I encourage you to think about this acrostic puzzle as you go through your ‘Steps to Recovery’:

R emember to love yourself (Matthew 22:37-39)
E liminate fear (Deuteronomy 31:8)
C reate a new you (2 Corinthians 5:17)
O pen your eyes and see your beauty (Psalm 119:18)
V anquish self-hate (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
E njoy eating again (Ecclesiastes 9:7)
R ealize your potential (Deuteronomy 31:8)
Y ou are worth so much (Psalm 139:13-15)