For a long time, I thought isolation was protecting me.

During the years when I was struggling with addiction, grief after losing my parents, and mental health battles, I became consumed with trying to survive my own life. When that happens, something subtle begins to take over. You start thinking about yourself constantly. Not because you want to be selfish, but because you’re drowning.

There’s a lyric from Mike Mains and the Branches that described that season perfectly: “I’ve been so stuck on myself, can’t seem to help anyone else.”

I wanted to care for people. I wanted to be someone who showed up for others. But at the time I couldn’t even help myself, and I lived in the tension between who I hoped to be and who I actually was.

Pain convinced me that isolation would protect me. But isolation slowly becomes a prison.

In this episode, I talk about the lies that keep us hiding, the moments of betrayal that make us afraid to open up again, and the deep truth that we were never meant to live life alone. From the story of Adam and Eve hiding in the garden, to the friendships and brotherhood that helped pull me out of isolation, this conversation is about the power of connection and the courage it takes to step out of hiding.

Recently, in the middle of uncertainty and transition, I asked myself a simple question: What has God done in my life this week? What I wrote down surprised me. It wasn’t events. It was people. Name after name, I was struck with this overwhelming sense of gratitude and a simple, yet powerful truth: I am not alone... and neither are you.

We were made for community. We were made to live life with others where we can divide pain among us and walk together. Find your tribe and be willing to step out in vulnerability, you might be surprisedly what you find.