CWSA - Guest: Rhonda Jergensen (Pt. 1)CWSA - Guest: Rhonda Jergensen (Pt. 1)
Christians with Secret Addictions
Rhonda Jarginson recounts a journey from childhood abuse, addiction and severe health problems to long-term sobriety through faith and the 12 steps. Host Terry Hanna and Rhonda focus on offering hope to people who feel emotionally and spiritually exhausted.
12:56•7 Jun 2026
From Trauma to Thirty Years Sober: Rhonda’s Faith and Recovery Journey
Episode Overview
- Rhonda describes how childhood abuse and early exposure to alcohol led to addiction starting at age 11.
- She shares that hitchhiking, drug use and living above a bar followed a suicide attempt and rejection from home at 13.
- Domestic violence left her in a wheelchair, yet she credits God and the right doctors with helping her walk again.
- Rhonda states she entered a 12-step programme in 1996, celebrated 30 years in recovery and says she has not relapsed.
- She encourages those feeling "physically, mentally, emotionally bankrupt" to turn things over to Jesus and trust that "he works miracles."
“If you're out there and you're listening to this and you're physically, mentally, emotionally bankrupt like I was, just know there is hope. I am living proof of hope.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? This episode centres on Rhonda Jarginson, who shares how faith and recovery reshaped a life marked by abuse, addiction and serious health problems. Growing up in a large, deeply dysfunctional family in the Adirondacks, Rhonda experienced physical, mental and emotional abuse, with her grandparents and Aunt Sandy as rare examples of stability and morals.
She accepted Christ at 11, hoping life would suddenly become perfect, but that same year she was sexually abused and started drinking daily at school and in bars where her family’s country and western band played. By her early teens she was hitchhiking, using drugs, living above a bar and bartending while still underage. Suicide attempts and a sense that death would be "the best thing" followed.
Multiple marriages, domestic violence and serious injury eventually left her in a wheelchair after her second husband beat her and damaged her spine. Yet Rhonda’s story is framed by the host, Terry Hanna, as one of remarkable perseverance and faith. She overdosed on a mix of sleeping pills and other medications while suicidal, then entered a 12-step recovery programme in 1996 and says, "I just celebrated 30 years." She notes, "I never relapsed. I have not relapsed.
And I always say yet because we're not guaranteed. But I know that my God has me." Rhonda also talks about being diagnosed with MS, praying for healing and later saying she has "no signs of MS," crediting Jesus with miracles in her life. For people "physically, mentally, emotionally bankrupt," she offers a straight-talking hope shot: "Just know there is hope.
And Jesus is powerful." You’ll hear a raw account of pain, resilience and faith-driven recovery, aimed at Christians wrestling with secret addictions and looking for practical hope grounded in the 12 steps and reliance on God. Could Rhonda’s honesty about pain and healing be the encouragement you need today?
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