Letting Go: Family Trauma And AddictionSample

Stripping Process

Day 6

God put people in my path to share things with me that would help me deal with my pain, but I was not ready at the time. I was not willing to lay down my way of doing things. Therefore, I stayed completely miserable for a long time. I started to make progress when I got tired of feeling the way I did.

This caused something to click inside me—I just didn’t care anymore. I was ready to throw my hands up and say, “I need help and I will do whatever it takes!”

I had to get to a place where I no longer cared what other people thought. I was ready to let go of guilt and shame that wasn’t mine to carry in the first place. I was ready to admit that I wanted help. When I did this, all of a sudden, the right people started to appear.

God lined up things in my life to walk me through a stripping process, so He could heal me and restore my life. So many things started to change in my life. I left my job, my friendships started to change, and I recognized other areas of my life that were out of order. I desperately needed to put boundaries in place. I realized why I was so tired all the time.

My life was spinning out of control and I was always flying by the seat of my pants. I had no structure or routine in my life. My time management was off, which brought on a lot of anxiety.

All this stuff just kept me in a cycle that never ended. It was a reflection of my life, and all the dysfunction and pain I was holding onto. I had to identify the people who were taking advantage of me, and I had to learn it was not my job to fix everybody else. I needed to get my eyes off of them and back on my life.

And guess what I learned? That the people closest to me, who I kept allowing in, were making me sicker. Don’t compare your journey to mine, but ask yourself a question: Who in my life is still causing me to stumble? You have to be willing to get honest with yourself.

For us to start to feel better we have to take back control in our lives—but this does not mean controlling other people, or controlling our pain through an addiction, or some other escape mechanism.

Reflection

Did you know you don’t have to be perfect and strong all the time? You don’t have to do this journey in your own strength.

Try to recognize patterns that are no longer healthy for you.  Do you need to put some boundaries in place with certain people?

Ask God to show you what changes He wants you to start on first. Remember it is progress, not perfection.