When Grace Meets Addiction and Trauma
When Grace Meets Addiction and Trauma
Addiction and trauma are often whispered about in Christian spaces, yet many believers silently carry these burdens behind closed doors. In this powerful episode of Honest Christian Conversations, I’m joined by Denise G. Lee, who courageously shares her journey from profound childhood trauma and sexual addiction to healing, freedom, and purpose through authentic faith.
Denise opens up about growing up with unimaginable abuse that shaped her understanding of relationships and self-worth, eventually leading to addiction. What makes her story especially compelling is her honesty about living a double life—appearing religious on the outside while deeply broken on the inside. Her testimony gently exposes how easy it is to hide pain behind spiritual language, and how Jesus invites us not into performance, but into truth.
This conversation reframes recovery not as a finished destination, but as a daily walk with God—what Denise describes as “God’s blessing for today.” We also explore addiction transference, learning how even good disciplines can become unhealthy substitutes if they replace dependence on God. Ultimately, Denise’s story reveals how God redeems even the darkest chapters, transforming pain into purpose as she now helps others through her work and podcast, The Introverted Entrepreneur Podcast.
🎧 Listen to the episode to hear a raw, hope-filled conversation about healing, recovery, and the freedom found when grace replaces shame.
💬 After listening, join the conversation in the community.
This is a space for honest reflection, shared learning, and grace-filled discussion for those navigating addiction, trauma, recovery, or walking alongside someone who is.
Wife. Mother of five. Podcaster. Fiction Novelist
Ana is the host of the Honest Christian Conversations podcast and a prodigal saved by God’s unending grace.
She grew up in a legalistic Christian home where asking questions often felt wrong. In her early twenties, overwhelmed by confusion and hurt, she walked away from her faith. Yet even then, God’s love never stopped pursuing her. At thirty years old—and after a painful second divorce—He brought her back to himself, and she has never looked back.
As Ana returned to Christ, she began rebuilding her faith from the ground up and asked the questions she once feared to ask. Along that journey, she discovered inconsistencies, misplaced teachings, and even lies woven into the Christianity she grew up with. Instead of destroying her faith, this only deepened it. Out of that discovery, she founded Honest Christian Conversations. Ana's heart is to help others navigate the same tension she once lived with: wanting to know the real Jesus while sorting through the noise of deceptive teachings, spiritual manipulation, and “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”
Everything she creates flows from gratitude for the God who rescued her, restored her, and continues to shape her into who He intended her to be.
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