Episode 1137: Dealing With Thorns In Recovery

Episode 1137: Dealing With Thorns In Recovery

What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? This instalment of Take 12 Recovery Radio leans into that question by looking at what the hosts call "thorns in recovery"—those ongoing struggles that don’t magically vanish just because someone stops drinking or using.

Host Monty Dale Meyer (the Monty’man) and co-host Roger McDiarmid mix humour, storytelling, and solid Twelve Step talk as they unpack the biblical account of the apostle Paul’s "thorn in the flesh" and why God’s reply, "My grace is sufficient for you," matters so much to people in recovery. They chat frankly about unanswered prayer, lingering weaknesses and temptations, and the uncomfortable truth that, as Roger puts it, "I’m on a need-to-know basis.

And when I need to know, He’ll let me know." You’ll hear them challenge common slogans like "God will never give you more than you can handle," arguing instead that God often allows more than someone can bear so they’ll hand it over to Him. They also tackle identity in recovery—why saying "I’m an alcoholic" can be a helpful handle in meetings without becoming someone’s whole identity.

There’s a powerful section where Monty shares going through opiate withdrawal after surgery, and how that brutal season gave him a new level of empathy for people detoxing from narcotics: he moves from "I’d heard these stories before" to truly understanding how "horrible" and "like a horror show on steroids" it can be.

Along the way, they plug intensive "Came to Believe" retreats for working the Steps quickly, play a light-hearted true-or-false game, and close with the blues track "A Good Song Fixes a Bad Day" by Delta Blues Brother, reminding everyone that some days just need a tune and some grace. If your recovery feels thorny, this conversation might have you asking: what if the struggle you hate is the very thing drawing you closer to God?