The Bite Size Podcast with Lorayne Michaels

Celebrate Recovery: Not Just for Addicts

• Lorayne • Season 2 • Episode 61

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Healing begins when we stop categorizing others as "the ones who need help" and turn the mirror on ourselves. For years, I believed Celebrate Recovery was just for addicts—until I found myself sitting in meetings meant to ensure my then-husband was attending. What I discovered changed everything.

Celebrate Recovery isn't what you think. This Christ-centered program that began at Saddleback Church addresses not just addiction, but every human struggle: codependency, perfectionism, control issues, anger, past trauma, and the countless ways we numb our pain. Through my journey from an abusive marriage filled with addiction, infidelity, and every form of abuse, I found more than escape—I found healing for my own wounds I didn't want to acknowledge.

The power of CR lies in its approach to root cause healing. Like functional medicine doesn't just mask symptoms but treats underlying causes, Celebrate Recovery doesn't just change behavior—it transforms hearts. When we bring our struggles from darkness to light, sharing them with God and trusted others, shame loses its grip. The program works if you work it, requiring courage to walk through those doors the first time, but offering freedom that surface-level healing never could. Whether you're battling addiction or simply feeling that something's off in your life, I invite you to consider: could this be for you? Because the answer, with love, is yes. Reach out if you have questions—true healing awaits, and you were created for so much more than coping. You were divinely created for a divine purpose.

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Speaker 1:

Hey friends, welcome back to another episode of the Bite Size Podcast. I'm your host, lorraine Michaels, where we talk about healing mind, body and spirit and we uncover what it truly means to live fully rooted in who God created you to be. And today's episode is a little bit different. It's kind of personal, but it's powerful and if you stick with me, I truly believe that it can change the way you see recovery. Let's talk about Celebrate Recovery. You may have heard of it. You maybe have brushed it off because you thought, oh, that's just for addicts. But I'm going to stop you right there.

Speaker 1:

Celebrate Recovery, or CR as it's called, is for anyone who is struggling with hurts, habits and hangups. So basically, it's for everyone. This is a 12-step Christ-centered program that actually started in Southern California at Saddleback Church and y'all. It has helped thousands, if not millions, of people find true healing and freedom. Not the surface level type of healing. I'm talking about deep root, get to the core healing, the kind of healing that actually sticks and works.

Speaker 1:

Let's be honest for a second here. I really want you to think about this. We love to categorize people. We say things like, oh, they're an addict, or oh, she has a past, or he needs help. But what about us? What about you? What if we took the plank out of our own eye? What if we held up a mirror and asked what about me? Maybe you're not battling drug addiction or alcohol addiction, but what about codependency? What about perfectionism, control, food issues, people pleasing? What about that trauma from your past that still dictates the choices that you make today? I know I'm touching a hot point, I know I'm poking at some people here, but stay with me.

Speaker 1:

Celebrate Recovery says bring it all of it, because God wants it. He wants to heal it all of it. I had this nudge today. I don't even know what I was doing or where I was at, but I just had the nudge to talk about Celebrate Recovery and the impact that it has had on my life personally. If you've known me for a while or you followed me, you know I'm all about root cause healing, the kind of healing that functional medicine does. It doesn't just slap a band-aid on your symptoms. It really digs to the root and gets to the why behind the what. And Celebrate Recovery does the same thing, not just spiritually, but spiritually and emotionally. We don't heal by ignoring the pain or numbing the symptoms. We heal by bringing it to the light. Light and that is one of the things that I absolutely love about Celebrate Recovery is because it brings that sin that we struggle with, that we hide in the dark, to light with God and with the community around and with truth, and you find ultimate healing.

Speaker 1:

So, if you don't know my story with CR, I was introduced to Celebrate Recovery because I was in a very abusive marriage. It was physically abusive, mentally abusive, sexually abusive, there was addiction, there was infidelity, I mean, you name it it probably was in that marriage and, although we may have or may not have, or we thought we did love each other very much. We were two very, very broken people who had serious trauma that was undealt with and I personally, looking back, know that I was codependent. I struggled with anger. I was codependent. I struggled with anger. I had an alcohol abuse problem because what I was doing is I was using alcohol as a crutch, as a numbing mechanism, as a way to connect with people, but also a way to disconnect, and I was abusing it.

Speaker 1:

And I started going to Celebrate Recovery to make sure my ex-husband was actually going to Celebrate Recovery, because he was an addict, and so I went because I wanted to make sure he was going. But the more that I went, the more that I realized that this program is incredibly powerful. If you did the program, the program doesn't work unless if you work the program. We talk about that all the time, but you have to show up and you have to do the work and do the digging to get to the root of the problem and you find a tremendous amount of healing, no matter what you're dealing with. And so, the more that I went, I started to ask myself could this be for me? And let me tell you with love yes, yes, it was. And if you're asking yourself this question, could this be for me? Yes, it could be.

Speaker 1:

So, whether you've been hiding behind success or shame or struggle, cr is a safe place to lay it all down, let it all out and let God rebuild you from the inside out. It takes a tremendous amount of faith and courage, once you find a Celebrate Recovery, to walk through those doors, because we don't have it all together. And that's the point is to go there knowing that you are not perfect and you don't have it all together and that there is something for you there. Friend, there is no shame in seeking healing. There's only power in saying, hey, I need help, or hey, I'm ready, or hey, I'm not sure if this is for me, but I'm willing to give it a shot. So let's stop pretending that we're all fine and start getting free and healing. Jesus didn't come for the altogether people. He came for the hurting, and you were created for more, and the healing is possible spiritually, emotionally and physically. So let's get to it.

Speaker 1:

I really, really want to encourage you that if there is something that you're struggling with, to reach out to someone, to reach out to me. If you have questions, if you're unsure of the Celebrate Recovery model or what this actually looks like, or even if you have a problem, I would love to walk you through this. You know, being a personal trainer, a wellness coach, I have experience in all these facets because I help bring it all together mind, body, spirit. But I really want to encourage you that if there's something that feels off and there's something that you're struggling with again, whether it be anger, addiction, porn, gambling, eating, people, pleasing, whatever it is, there is something that we all struggle with. I guarantee you there is something for you at Celebrate Recovery.

Speaker 1:

So that was laid on my heart today it was to talk a little bit about that and that there's true power in healing and walking through a phenomenal program and you don't even have to be a believer to go, it's just faith-based. So they tie in the 12 steps If you're familiar with the 12 steps in any recovery. They tie in biblical Bible verses that go hand in hand with the steps to walk you through it, because there's power and truth, and the word of God is truth. So I say this with love and encouragement and I hope that if this is something that you are struggling with or you know someone who is struggling with this, please share this episode. I would love to help walk you through that journey. As always, friend, you were divinely created for a divine purpose.