CWSA - Guest: Rhonda Jergensen (Pt. 2)CWSA - Guest: Rhonda Jergensen (Pt. 2)
Christians with Secret Addictions
Host Terry Hanna talks with long-time recovering Christian Rhonda Jergensen about obsession, the God box tool, and walking through all 12 steps. Rhonda shares how faith, amends, and daily spiritual practices have supported her sobriety through trauma, loss, and everyday life.
13:51•14 Jun 2026
Faith, the 12 Steps, and Rhonda’s God Box: A Long-Term Recovery Story
Episode Overview
- Obsession and compulsion can ease over time when worries are handed to God, such as through a daily God box practice.
- A thorough written fourth step, including painful experiences, is vital to avoid emotional fallout later in sobriety.
- Some items in a fourth-step inventory are not the addict’s fault; sponsors can help process these while keeping recovery on track.
- Living amends are a way to honour people who cannot be directly approached, by treating others with the care once withheld.
- Regular meetings, prayer, meditation, and daily inventories help manage grief and life’s pressures without turning back to substances.
“If you’re trying to get this programme, don’t leave before the miracle happens because we’re all miracles.”
What drives someone to seek a life without addiction? This conversation between host Terry Hanna and long-time recovering Christian Rhonda Jergensen gives a very practical, down-to-earth look at how faith and the 12 steps can work side by side. Rhonda shares how she arrived in recovery “willing to do anything” while still gripped by obsession and compulsion. Her first sponsor suggested a simple but powerful tool: a "God box".
Every stressful, negative thought went on paper and into that box as she “turned it over to God”. Rhonda explains that by doing this repeatedly, “eventually, my obsession was lifted,” and she still uses that same box decades later. You’ll hear a step-by-step walk through the biblical 12-step programme, from admitting powerlessness to making amends.
Rhonda talks honestly about skipping a painful abuse experience in her first written fourth step and how that led to a nervous breakdown 11 years sober. Her warning is clear: some things in your inventory aren’t your fault, so “get with your sponsor and move on” rather than burying them.
The episode spends time on forgiveness, confession, and what Rhonda calls “living amends” – such as caring for an older woman as a way of honouring the mother she hurt while in addiction. She explains daily practices like inventories, meetings, prayer and meditation, and reading about acceptance to handle grief and loss without relapsing, including the death of her husband in her arms.
Terry and Rhonda keep the tone warm and practical, stressing that recovery is spiritual as well as emotional: “If you’re trying to get this programme, don’t leave before the miracle happens because we’re all miracles.” If you’re wondering how Christian faith and the 12 steps can support long-term sobriety, this honest chat might be exactly what you need today.
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