I don’t know about you but for me ringing in the new year signifies “new beginnings”. At HopeQuest, we love new beginnings! Actually, when it comes down to it that is exactly what we offer. Paul expressed it like this, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17.
Our passion at HopeQuest is to see people and their families affected by addiction experience hope, freedom, and life. There is nothing more rewarding or satisfying than seeing lives transformed right before your very eyes. However, sometimes-old things begin to creep back in. Whether it is a change in eating habits, going to the gym or something else that you want to change in your life, falling back into the same old rut is easy. So how can we have life transformation that sticks? Here are a few helpful tips that are easy for anyone to do.
- Invite safe people to take this journey with you. This requires safe relationships with whom you can be honest, authentic, and real with. They know the good, the bad, and the ugly.
- Be a person of grace! Freely offer grace to others and give grace to yourself! One main reason for the lack of progress in our lives is due to the shame we continue to embrace. God is for you!
- Keep moving forward. Momentum is a game changer when it comes to life transformation. A lapse, a stumble, or a mistaken step can be discouraging but it does not mean you are a failure and must return to the beginning. Get back up, brush yourself off and keep the momentum moving forward!
Whether you are in recovery or not, applying these three simple ideas into everyday living will help you stay on the path God has given you. Over time and with momentum, things that would have derailed you before become like pebbles in the road instead of the boulders they used to be.