Forgiveness Starts with You

Have you ever found it easier to forgive others than to forgive yourself? In Step Eight of our Christ-centered recovery journey, we’re reminded that self-forgiveness is not weakness — it’s an essential part of healing.

Forgiving Ourselves Is Part of Healing

When we think about Step Eight — making a list of all persons we had harmed and becoming willing to make amends — it’s easy to focus only on other people. But the truth is, many of us have hurt ourselves most of all.

We’ve lived with self-condemnation. We’ve rehearsed past mistakes. We’ve used food to cope with pain, only to feel more shame afterward. And we’ve punished ourselves, thinking we didn’t deserve grace.

But here's the good news:

“Most people are hard on themselves and expect perfection. In Steps Four and Five, we see how we have been hurt and what has led us to behave as we have. Now we learn we no longer need to behave that way and can forgive ourselves, knowing we have already been forgiven by God.”— from “12 Steps to Recovery from Overeating” by Julie Kleinhans

We don’t have to stay stuck in guilt. The work we've done in earlier steps has helped us see that much of our behavior was driven by pain, fear, and unmet needs. Now, in Step Eight, we begin to embrace the possibility of freedom — not just from overeating, but from shame.

The enemy would love for us to stay locked in self-hatred. But Jesus came to set captives free. When we receive God’s forgiveness, we’re not just being “let off the hook.” We’re being invited into a new way of living — one that includes grace for ourselves.

If you’ve struggled to forgive yourself, you’re not alone. But know this: healing is possible. You can live free from food, free from shame, and free from the burdens of the past.

Take a moment today to ask God to help you release the guilt — and to fill that space with His truth and love.

Taken from Step Eight in “12 Steps to Recovery from Overeating” by Julie Kleinhans – available on Amazon at https://a.co/d/b59l7hh