The Transforming Power of Truth is a Journey of Sanctification
By Tammie Brettschneider
Editor’s Note: In the following story, Tammie recalls an encounter at a second-hand store with a young man who insisted that Jesus alone—without recovery work—was enough to keep him sober. Drawing from 31.5 years of her own sobriety, Tammie reflects on the necessity of daily responsibility, humility, and action in both faith and recovery. She connects this with Jesus’ command in John 5 to “pick up your mat and walk,” emphasizing that faith requires action and accountability, not avoidance.
Years ago, when making a purchase at a second-hand store, I engaged with the young man who was operating the cash register. He had just shared with the customer ahead of me that he was clean and sober boasting that Jesus had saved him. When I approached the cash register, I asked how long he’d been clean and sober. I honestly don’t remember his reply, but I will never forget the following conversation he and I had. I told him I was 25 years clean and sober and that Jesus had saved me as well. I then mentioned how important my recovery was to me because without it, I would not be able to claim my current victory. He said, “I don’t need recovery. I have Jesus and that’s all I need”. The store was busy, and he seemed to be ready to end the conversation, however, I continued my explanation of how I had to work on my recovery every day. He abruptly ended the conversation with, “we’ll just have to agree to disagree on that one!”
As a recently retired mental health therapist and a recovering drug and alcohol abuser (31.5 years clean!), I have never forgotten that young man nor have I stopped praying for him. I grieve for him as I believe his ability to stay “clean” in his own might was a temporary state of sobriety. John 5:1-15 describes a man who had been an invalid of thirty-eight years. As Jesus approaches the man, he asks him to decide, to accept responsibility, to act, “Do you want to get well?” How did the man respond to Jesus? He made excuses; he was immersed in self-pity and learned helplessness; as if saying, “it’s not my fault!” I remember early in my recovery, I felt the need to disclose my abusive and neglectful family of origin, in effect saying, it’s not my fault!”
In my walk of sanctification (which will last till the day I stop breathing), God has shown me how in all those years of abusing drugs and alcohol, I had other choices. However, those other choices, if healthy, would have required daily - honesty, humility, submission, repentance, in a few words– responsibility for my actions! Jesus doesn’t say, pick up your mat and lay it over there. He commands action. He tells us in Luke 9:23, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Can you imagine how heavy the cross was? Does it sound like an easy thing that Jesus asks us to do daily?
The hallmark of addictions is avoidance of responsibility. Jesus commands us in Scripture to walk, pick up, carry, confess, go, tell, and so on. Our faith is a gospel of action. In the counseling room, I would often stand up and spread my arms and fingers out as if in a wide stretch. I would tell the client with whom I was working, “my relapse is at the end of my fingertips.” I would then demonstrate what would happen if I lost my balance. Staying clean and sober from anything that has control over us, requires balance, physical and emotional health, in other words, a solid foundation. I’ve never forgotten what the leader of a Christian-based 12 step group I attended said, “We have to learn to live life on life’s terms.”
What are life’s terms? Heartache, sadness, illness, death, destruction, loss, struggle, injustice, malice, crime, natural disasters, etc. If I am laying by the pool at Bethesda as in John chapter 5, waiting to get into the healing waters, what am I going to do when life hits me with its terms?
I’ve had the unfortunate opportunity to experience this twice in the past 31.5 years where I felt emotional pain so deeply and viciously, I didn’t want to “feel”. I did not believe I could withstand the pain. I thought the pain was going to swallow me and destroy me. I can only describe the overwhelmingness of it by saying I wanted to run away, escape, and not be. The most recent experience of this unbearable pain was March of 2023 when we learned that our oldest daughter who had been in treatment for just about a year for breast cancer was in the hospital in DC with life threatening organ failures. Leslie, my daughter whom I met at age 6 and became her mom #2 when she was 8 was big sister to both my biological children and our family memories were sewn and woven over a 28-year history.
Leslie had followed (somewhat) in my footsteps in a mental health career. She was a licensed professional in DC and worked with women, children and families in her beloved community. She had risen to the ranks of director within her organization and had just a few months of fulfilling a dream to teach in the University of Maryland Social Work Program. After chemo, surgery and radiation she was given a “cancer free” diagnosis and the five of us celebrated Christmas of 2022 with great jubilee. On March 10th, 2023, she was admitted to George Washington Hospital and 5 days later March 15th she passed on to be with her Lord and Savior. Leslie’s memorial service welcomed over 250 guests. We had the joy of worshiping with current friends, family and community as well as her middle school youth pastors and team members attended. Leslie lived the abundant life despite carrying many health “crosses” including alopecia universalis and other autoimmune disorders, all diagnosed before age 6. Yet, she lived free, bald and full of life, carrying her cross daily.
The past 20 months or so have been filled with grief, confusion, tears as well as thankfulness for having her in our lives for almost 3 decades.
When life happens on life’s terms and it will, you need the strength of character to say, “yes” when Jesus says, “Do you want to get well?” You need the experience of success riding the waves of temptations and urges. “Pick up your mat… and walk.” Research tells us that the urge to “escape” or in more common language, to “use” drugs or alcohol is a 120 second intense wave. This phenomenon has been termed Urge Surfing. Learning to successfully ride out the wave and refrain from giving into temptation builds new neural pathways, it builds confidence and leads to greater, longer periods of health and a history and future that begins to reflect a journey of sanctification.
As Jesus describes it, “…be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” As I stated in my Winter 2012 article of the Journey, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Psychology or mental health isn’t offering the antithesis of Scripture, instead it offers a deeper and spiritually mature understanding of Scripture. The shame and connotation that mental health counseling is anti-faith, anti-Scripture, anti-God originates in fear. Fear that learning about your emotions will somehow threaten your faith? Fear that you will abandon your faith? Fear that you won’t listen to your pastor or congregation or family? Fear that you will somehow indulge in an evil activity? There are lots of things to be fearful of, but our God designed and created emotional well-being is not one of them.
Every person, including every client, I ever met taught me a lot about faith, Scripture and this journey of sanctification; the challenges of blending a family, raising 3 children, pursuing my NC licensure as a professional licensed clinical mental health counselor and supervisor, were all experiences that stretched me, turned my perspective inside out and pushed me to study, grow and mature in my faith walk.
The further I walk on this journey the bigger God is to me. I don’t have to fear the things that threaten my understanding of Him or Scripture. I have learned to lean into God and trust that He has allowed me to walk through something because His ways are not my ways and every time I have ever gone through one of life’s terms, for which there have been many, He brings someone, just like you, into my life and He whispers, “that’s why.”
Postscript:
Tammie and her husband Bill will celebrate 30 years of marriage in 2025 (a second marriage at that!). Both are retired and reside in Eastern North Carolina with their two miniature dachshunds, Oliver and Maisy.
Tammie originally shared her journey from addiction to sobriety in the winter 2012 issue of the Journey magazine. This powerful testimony can be found on pages 27 & 28 at:
