F E AT U R E S
P A T H WAY TO PEACE by DAVID ROTEN
Celebrate Recovery, in its 20th year of existence, continues to offer hope and life change for those suffering from addiction, depression, anxiety, eating disorders and a variety of other maladies often swept aside by society.
Melissa Lombardi recognizes a common thread that has run throughout her life. It can be seen in almost everything she does, from her work as a doula, or personal childbirth specialist, to being a grandmother and serving as a volunteer at Celebrate Recovery. “They all have to do with coming alongside people and just helping them and walking with them through, oftentimes, a new journey,” she said. Lombardi views it as a calling from God—one enriched by the crucible of her own experience. Twenty years ago, she was the one who needed help. She was in pain, angry and exhausted from trying to restore a broken relationship. Admittedly, there were control issues. “I became so fixated on trying to fix them I really lost sight of who I was and how Christ saw me,” she said, “and I just became really negative and, after a while, a person I didn’t like at all.”
14 The Newton
