Hi, friend.
I hope you’re doing alright today.
In a pandemic that’s been dragging on for more than a year, I know it’s easy to feel discouraged and disheartened.
While some wished (and perhaps prayed) for this pandemic to magically just “go away,” that hasn’t happened.
Sure, things are improving and cases seem to be declining, but there has been no overnight miracle here.
Speaking of miracles, can we talk honestly for a minute?
The Problem with Miracles
I have a real problem with the televangelist variety of “miracles.” I’m not a fan of snake oil salesmen who over-promise and under-deliver.
Perhaps, it’s because I know what it’s like to press on through the sometimes grueling task of recovery.
Think about it like this: If I tell you I was a victim of childhood sexual abuse, attempted suicide, and now serve as an emotional health coach and internationally sought-after speaker, I leave out all the parts of my journey that really matter…
I fail to tell you about not feeling my legs for three days in ICU, how I was sure I’d be paralyzed from the waist down because of the combination of things I ingested to try to end my pain.
I fail to mention how convinced I was that I was not just a failure for attempting suicide but that I was an even bigger loser for not doing it right.
I don’t tell you about the very difficult conversation Lindsey and I had in the living room, when she told me she wasn’t leaving but had some very clear demands for how I’d hold up my end of recovery.
I forget to mention the hours we spent in marriage counseling and individual therapy, uncomfortable conversation after uncomfortable conversation. How we’d leave marriage counseling each week and walk around the pond behind the office, one nervously asking the other, “Are you sure you still want to do this?”
If I only give you my Insta story, leaving out so many important and excruciating lessons we’ve learned along the way, I do you a disservice. I also fail to honor the pain Lindsey and I have walked through, and the slow miracles that I’ve seen in my own life.
So whatever wounds you’ve received, I want to remind you once again that you’re safe here. If I’ve learned anything in the past eight years of recovery from my darkest day, it’s that my wife Lindsey was right when she said: “Your very worst day only gets to define the rest of your life if you let it.”
Lessons in Adversity
We never want to face adverse situations. Unfortunately, they will happen. It’s not a matter of if, but when. If there is to be a silver lining, it’s that we will learn from them. That is if we are willing to learn.
The deeper the adversity we face, the more it tests our resolve. We will learn much about ourselves in how we deal with the situation. Lindsey didn't want to accept that I'd intentionally tried to end my life, but my wounds now belong to her, too. And we had to face this hardship together.
But we couldn't heal in either scenario until we were willing to face the pain in the first place. It's the only way to learn from adversity.
This is exactly why I’m so excited to launch The Pathway to Peace.
Join Me on The Pathway to Peace
Whether your wounds have come from trauma, abuse, loss, mental illness, or something else, what you’ll find inside this intimate group coaching program is a safe place where you can lay down your burdens and rest.
In addition to the safety of a compassionate community, you’ll also get practical steps to move forward in the healing process.
Early bird bonuses end this Friday, 3/19. Click here for all the details and to sign up. There are only 10 spaces available.
I’m in your corner,
Steve