Yesterday, my younger brother went with me to change out some doorknobs which needed replaced at our daughter’s home. I could possibly do this myself, but anytime I try, I almost always end up calling him to finish what I can’t work through. It is so much easier to simply have him come with me and take the lead. I’m always so grateful afterwards. He has all of it done in a short period of time and we enjoy the time together while the work is being done.

This morning as I was reflecting on the thanksgiving of having a brother gifted in these areas, I was prompted to take a moment and compare this to having a sponsor in Celebrate Recovery. A sponsor is someone who may not have the exact struggle you do, but he is not anxious about tackling it. These types of struggles he knows are not his, he relies on his ability to see the steps as they come, do what he is to do and let God do what He needs to do. All this can be done while you enjoy being together. The anxiety is gone when you have someone you trust taking the steps with you.

I have learned to go to my brother for help. He is very trustworthy in his skills. A good sponsor is just the same. The important part in this is reaching out when you’re needing help. It is OK to not be OK. The only thing wrong with this is when we stay in the not OK mode with our thinking/worrying/temping without reaching out for help. The end result of reaching out is the enjoyment of having someone share the struggle with you and finding how easy it is to let the struggle go when you take this step. We all need this reminder.