Holiday Healing: Finding Freedom Through Community Support

The holidays put lights in the windows and songs in the air, but many of us carry pain that the season cannot hide. I spoke plainly to those who feel sidelined by diagnosis, addiction, debt, family fracture, or the weight of loneliness. We shared why healing rarely happens alone and why we created free, confidential healing groups—both in person and virtual—so you can find people who will walk with you at your pace, without judgment. I wanted you to hear real stories, because stories make courage contagious.

Audrey’s journey showed how what we bury alive stays alive. Her body kept score until she chose the hard, daily work of forgiveness. Forgiveness did not erase the past; it loosened its grip so she could breathe again and help others. We also heard how structure and community can change a life—Frank’s pathway from prison to purpose through CityLink, with mentors and training, reminded us that accountability and opportunity belong together. He said life is better when shared, and he’s right.

Not everyone comes in with faith, and that’s okay. You’re welcome whether you’re curious, skeptical, or committed. Still, many discover they need something bigger than willpower to sustain change. We talked about head and heart—how both need to be engaged for transformation to last. Healing is whole-person work: body, mind, and soul. Amanda and Ashley’s story named the grief that follows medical trauma—the loss of the life you thought you had—and why our grief and cancer-related groups make space to lament, remember, and rebuild.

We went there with sexual addiction too. Secrecy and shame thrive in the dark; connection and honesty break their power. That’s why men gather weekly for Healthy Sexuality—to practice boundaries, confess early, and choose connection over compulsion. We also pointed to marriage support, parenting and pregnancy loss care, and recovery groups that meet you where you are.

Here’s the heart: healing takes practice, people, and a place. You bring your story; we bring structure, safety, and a community that believes change is possible. The door is open—free groups, child care available in many, virtual options, and no judgment. You are not an interruption. You are the reason we’re here.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Healing happens in honest community. Real change requires being known, not simply being inspired. Isolation keeps pain unchallenged; community puts light and language around what hurts. The right people help you tell the truth without losing your dignity and take small steps that add up to freedom. [01:12]
• 2. Forgiveness is a practiced posture. Forgiveness is not forgetting; it’s refusing to let the wound define your future. It often begins on paper—naming the harm, surrendering the debt, repeating the choice when feelings lag. Over time, the heart catches up to the decision, and space opens for freedom. [06:49]
• 3. Recovery needs structure and scaffolding. Desire alone won’t carry you; rhythms, mentors, and accountability will. Groups give you language, plans, and people who notice when you drift. Structure doesn’t limit you—it liberates you to do the next right thing consistently. [22:54]
• 4. Grief requires room to reshape love. After loss, we don’t go “back”; we go forward with what remains. Naming what died—expectations, seasons, identities—honors the truth and makes room for new attachment. Grief groups help you carry memory without being carried away by it. [35:42]
• 5. Wholeness embraces body, mind, and soul. Symptoms in one part of life echo through the others. Integrated care means screenings and counseling, prayer and practical help, lament and laughter around a table. When all three are tended, resilience grows. [33:25]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:12] - Holidays hurt: you’re not alone
• [02:32] - Free healing groups: hope and access
• [04:27] - Audrey’s story: buried pain surfaces
• [06:49] - Practicing forgiveness and finding freedom
• [18:20] - Addiction and second chances
• [20:21] - CityLink: from prison to purpose
• [24:24] - Head vs heart in recovery
• [28:39] - Everyone welcome; faith is invited
• [33:25] - Body, mind, and soul care
• [33:46] - Sisters’ cancer journey and community
• [36:30] - Grief groups: making space to heal
• [45:51] - Breaking secrecy: sexual addiction recovery
• [47:29] - Connection and accountability for men
• [55:50] - Next steps: groups, no judgment, help

1. What does Colossians 3:12–13 say about forgiving one another, and how does that connect to Audrey’s description that what you "bury alive stays alive"? [06:49]
2. Hebrews 10:24–25 urges believers not to neglect meeting together. Which moments in the stories showed a clear difference between trying to do recovery alone and doing it with others (mentors, groups, CityLink)? [22:54]
3. James 5:16 calls for mutual confession and prayer. How did the Men's Healthy Sexuality group and other recovery groups model breaking secrecy and allowing confession to lead toward healing? [47:29]
4. The hour repeatedly described healing as body, mind, and soul work. Where in the stories did you hear that grief, medical trauma, or addiction affected more than one area of life? [33:25]

1. If forgiveness is “a practiced posture” (naming harm, repeating the choice), how should a community help someone take those first fragile steps toward forgiveness without minimizing the pain? [06:49]
2. Hebrews calls the church to stir one another up to love and good works. What practical elements (rhythms, mentors, accountability) are most essential for a group so it actually stirs people toward change rather than just meeting for information? [22:54]
3. James urges confession to one another so healing can happen. What safeguards and norms are needed in a group for confession to be safe (confidentiality, pastoral oversight, boundaries), and why are those safeguards theologically important? [47:29]
4. The program described grief groups that make “room to reshape love.” Theologically, what does it mean to move forward with what remains rather than trying to go back, and how should a group pastor that forward movement practically? [35:42]

1. Name one wound, secret, or loss that you have kept “buried.” What is a single practical first step you can take this week toward naming it (writing it down, telling one trusted person, or joining a group)? [07:20]
2. Who are two people in your life who could be part of a safe, honest community for you (mentors, peers, small group)? If you don’t have two, what is one concrete step you will take to find a group (look up a local group, join a virtual meeting, call the church office)? [56:18]
3. If structure helps recovery, what specific weekly rhythm could you commit to for the next 30 days (a meeting, an accountability check-in, a volunteer shift, or a training class)? When will you start it? [22:54]
4. If you are carrying grief or medical trauma, what memory, expectation, or identity do you need to name aloud to begin reshaping love? Would you consider a grief group to carry that memory—if so, when will you look up meeting times? [35:42]
5. If secrecy has been part of a struggle, what is one small, specific honesty you could speak this week to a trusted person to begin breaking secrecy (a confession, a boundary you need, or a place you need help)? [47:29]
6. Healing is body, mind, and soul. List one practical step for each area you will take this month (body: screening/doctor appointment/exercise; mind: counseling/book/rest; soul: prayer/accountability/faith community). When will you do each? [33:25]