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If you’ve been in recovery—or even if you’re simply trying to grow in your spiritual life—you’ve probably been told this already: If your journey is just about your own
healing, your vision is too small. That might feel like a harsh thing to hear. Especially if you’re exhausted. Especially if you’re still feeling the pain of your own wounds. And yet...don't hear this as a guilt trip. Think of it as an invitation. A powerful and important shift happens when we stop thinking only in terms of our own progress, and we start asking: How can my journey help someone else? There are so many people right now who are struggling under the weight of shame and secrecy. They’re stuck in cycles of behavior that they hate but can’t seem to stop. They love their families, but feel emotionally cut off. They go to church, but spend Saturday night numbing out with porn or alcohol. They’re caught between who they want to be and who they feel like they are. And here’s the thing: they won’t find their way out on their own. They need someone who’s been there. Someone who’s wrestled with the same temptations. Someone who has made progress, not by pretending to be perfect, but by
walking an honest path of surrender and growth. That someone could be you. In the classic AA meditation book
Twenty-Four Hours a Day, there’s a reflection from a man who’s made this kind of shift. He says, “I’m glad to be useful. To have a reason for living, a purpose in life. I want to lose my life in this great cause—and so find it again.”
There’s a paradox there: in giving his life to something beyond himself, he actually finds his life again. He finds joy, meaning, even peace. His problems are still there, but his life is now anchored to something deeper than just “self-improvement.” This is why the 12th Step of recovery is so critical: “Having had a spiritual awakening…we tried to carry
this message to others.”
We do this not just because others need to hear it—but because we need to share it. Our own growth isn’t complete until we give it away. You don’t have to have everything figured out. You don’t need to be fully healed to start helping. But you do need to be willing. Willing to offer your story. Willing to show up for someone else. Willing to trust that God can use your pain and your progress to bring light to another. So here’s a simple question for you to sit with this week: Who around you might be waiting for someone like you to show up? Let’s not wait until we feel ready. Let’s step forward with what we have. And in the giving, we’ll discover just how much we’ve actually been given.
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