Heather’s Story
One of the benefits of showing compassion to others is that we get a brand-new look at ourselves. That’s what happened to Heather Wingate, administrative assistant/operations coordinator for Early Childhood ministry, when she reluctantly agreed to visit Celebrate Recovery, a ministry that helps people overcome hurts, habits and hang-ups.
She did so as part of a Choose Compassion challenge the church staff took on. Compassion Christian is asking members to “Choose Compassion” this year, to see people as Jesus does and act out of compassion for them.
Little did Heather know that the Lord would show her that she had some recovering to do, too.
“I honestly did not want to go,” she said, adding that she only wanted to check the “I participated” box on her Compassion Challenge form.
Why the bad attitude? “I thought I loved all people, but until this experience, I never realized I harbored such resentment, anger and bitterness toward addicts.” Yet, as Heather took the first step of love, God did the rest. “What happened next was a love I found not only for others, but myself,” she said.
As Heather joined in on the Celebrate Recovery praise and worship, a divine spotlight began to shine on her own heart, even as she worried about whether she would stay longer than one hour, the time limit she had promised her family.
As Step 1 in the recovery process was presented—Denial—Heather realized why she was there. “I was in denial,” she said. “This started me on my journey to say, ‘Hello, my name is Heather. I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ, and I struggle with depression, anxiety and food addiction.”
Three hours later, Heather was on her way home with a new perspective and determination to join hands with God and experience victory in Him. “I found not only freedom from knowing my denial was self-destructive, but I found peace in loving those toward whom I had harbored resentment,” she said.
The action steps God led her to take included attendance at Weight Watchers meetings and pledging $1 for every pound lost to her son’s favorite cause: food baskets for the people of Guatemala.
The end result? Far more than what Heather had bargained for when she sheepishly slipped into the back row of a CR meeting.
“Little did I realize that participating in the Compassion Challenge would allow me to extend grace and acceptance for those in recovery, love to those a half a world away and freedom and a start on my own recovery path from food addiction,” she said.
Celebrate Recovery meets Fridays at 7 p.m. at the Adult Ministry Center on the Henderson Campus.
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