Welcome to She Surrenders! A place where we can have a conversation about what it looks like when you surrender your “stuff” to God (whatever that may be). For me it was alcohol, which might not be your stuff but surrendering can apply to so many things that we struggle with! Maybe it’s food, relationships, self-esteem, or co-dependency? The list is endless!
What my addiction taught me is that God shows up everyday in all things in our lives. Over and over again he gives me the opportunity to surrender anything that keeps me from being the woman of God He wants me to be.
To surrender means “the end of the fight, and there is no more argument.” That is a true definition of the day I said no to a substance that had become my idol and said yes to God. I want to share with you that the battle is worth it. We can break free of our struggles in our own will if we want to, that is true. However if you do it with God you will be TRULY free and that is a beautiful way to live.
My name is Sherry and I am an alcoholic. Words I never thought I would freely say. My worst nightmare when I was in the pit of my addiction was that people would find out my horrible secret. I was so ashamed that I called myself a Christian, but in reality I lived with this horrible secret that I was addicted to alcohol. My life was a big fat lie.
I beat myself up daily and asked God for help so many times. Here’s the thing though, when I surrendered, it was on my terms and conditions. “God take this away so I can drink like a normal person. Lord, take this from me and I promise I will only drink beer. Dear God help me control my drinking so I don’t hurt anyone else but me.”
None of that worked. God wanted me to surrender totally and completely. So he waited, and he waited, and he waited. What I love is that he never gave up on me. He loved me enough to wait for me to figure it out as I took every fork in the road possible. He had laid out a straight path for me to follow a long time ago. He put people in my life who weren’t going to give up on me either.
I do realize that a story of addiction and recovery is not exactly unique, but I have a tendency to do things a little unconventionally and this was no exception. I believe God flipped my switch to get over it and get out there! At my lowest point of addiction, I was challenged to join a team of cyclists for a fundraiser that was cycling from Michigan to Texas. I did not even own a bike!
Fifty-one days later, I left on that trip and 6 years and 16,000 miles later I am sober and living life to its fullest potential. I want to share my story with honesty and humor so that we can grow and learn from each other.
I have a true desire to encourage women (especially Christian women) to surrender the secret sins that try to define us. Why especially Christian women? Here’s the thing, we are so hard on ourselves when we are in the pit of addiction, guilt, and shame. Then you add on the additional guilt of being a Christian in this as well and you have a whole new area to beat yourself up with! It is so exhausting!
My story is about a spiritual, emotional, and physical journey to draw nearer to God and a stubborn refusal to let addiction define who I am. I want to encourage you to dig deeper and submit to God's leading. While you don’t have to go on a bike ride to surrender your secret sins, I want to have an ongoing conversation about what true surrender really looks like. Taking God’s hand, never letting go, and surrendering our secrets to live a life in freedom in Him. Let's do this surrender thing together!
I would love to hear from you!
Peace,
Sherry
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