“She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.” Luke 8:44 (NIV 1984)

Dealing with addictions and issues in my family, and just junk in my own personal life, was one of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through! If you’ve been there, or have family members struggling with an addiction or major life trauma, then you can relate! Counseling and meeting with my pastor was helpful, but it wasn’t like speaking to someone who’d been there! Showing up to CR was like having a best friend who’d been in my shoes and could encourage me! They knew what I had been through, they had breakthroughs and their life had changed in a radical way. I was looking for my life to be easier, not perfect, but at least manageable. Little did I know that my life was changing during this process, and real healing was affecting those around me too!

Many, many years ago there was another woman who was just desperate enough to get the help that she needed. She’d been bleeding for 12 years and no one could help her. But when Jesus showed up near where she lived, she was ready to try anything! I think she must have been super embarrassed, and surely extremely weakened, because of her bleeding. She probably took every ounce of her remaining energy and courage just to get to Jesus that day! There were many in the crowds with her that day, yet she was so desperate and determined enough to walk through all of them, to reach out and touch his cloak and then she was healed immediately! What’s your point of desperation? What will it take for you to get well? Do you long to be healed and whole?

Desperation causes many people to do different and, at times, crazy things. Some people make wrong choices, believing their backs are against a wall. Some people go into hiding or isolation through wearing masks, pretending to be “OK, while some simply hope and pray that the problems will go away. Some lash out at others, blaming them when we really need to stop blaming and start looking at ourselves!

Yet some are just desperate enough to do something risky and full of humility to get the help they need — what a great place to be!

Our greatest suffering can create a great blessing, both in our own life and in others’ lives. Never in a million years would I believe that He would take intense pain, despair, betrayal, grief, sorrow and loss, to turn it into my story that I’m truly blessed to be able to share with others.

Sometimes God uses other people to help us, and sometimes He is the only One who has the answers. If you’re at a place of desperation or longing for some answers, this may be exactly where you’re supposed to be! Reach out! At CR, we share each and every Friday where we are in life, and we get real. We talk about those scary/insecure things or issues and the worries and fears that weigh us down. Sharing about it gets it out and helps us heal, so that then we can come up with workable solutions to tackle the situation. Sometimes what we don’t talk out creatively, we act out destructively! We’re not meant to go through life alone, we’re truly better together! Did you know that over 60 percent of those attending CR don’t have an addiction problem? They have regular hurts, hang-ups and habits just like the rest of us! We’re normal people, with various struggles, just like you.

See why people attending CR say it’s the best place to be on a Friday Night! Celebrate Recovery, 408 College St., Clinton, NC 28328 Fridays at 7 p.m. Hope to see you then;we’ll have the lights on!