Today we’d like to introduce you to Chrystal Cuellar.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Absolutely! I give God all the glory to where I am at today. A little over four years ago now I was in a very dark place. I had always been someone who drank alcohol on special occasions or to go out for girls night. However, drinking became a hobby after long. I always had a reason to drink, whether it was a celebration of some sort or because I had a rough day. I never was an everyday drinker or physically addicted to alcohol, but I came very close. I became that person who couldn’t have fun without alcohol and drank to get inebriated. Having “one drink” wasn’t in my vocabulary. After getting into some trouble and making some poor decisions while drinking I decided to take a break from alcohol.
After taking about 3 months off of drinking and working on myself, I decided I could go out again. I told myself this time around it would be different and it wouldn’t get out of hand. It didn’t for a while until it did. The first week I went out I ended up meeting the man I would be with for the next 10 years. It wasn’t the fairytale-like I imagined it would be though. When I met him, he too was a partier and I ended right back where I was before. Binge drinking and this time dabbling in other drugs. Not necessarily by his influence, but more so because I got sucked back into that lifestyle again, but this time I had a partner in crime. As I continued to binge drink and lived for the weekends, we moved in together and I soon realized he had a substance abuse problem.
This was the first time I was really exposed to any kind of addiction and it’s something I never thought I would be exposed to. He eventually went away for a year and a half to get clean and when he came back we started over again. Only to repeat the same cycle. As we went through this cycle year after year with my binge drinking and his drug use, things got really dark for me. Alcohol became my outlet more than it was before. It was my comfort, my temporary peace and eventually became my prison along with this relationship. The relationship became even more toxic and was filled with manipulation, emotional and physical abuse.
I was no Angel during this time but I knew I had to leave at some point. During this time I had sought out a Bible study or “something”‘I could plug into. I was scrolling on Facebook one day and happened to come across a girl from high school, and I just remember her looking so happy. I remember thinking, “wow I want to be that happy too.” It just happened that she and her husband had just moved from Del Rio back to San Antonio and were doing church out of their apartment. I messaged her and she invited me to their home for service. This was very out of character for me to do, and now as I look back I can see God orchestrating it all. After I started going to what is now Gravetop church, God wrecked my life in the best way possible.
He opened my eyes to what I wasn’t seeing in the relationship I was in, despite the obvious and he showed me the addiction that was rising up in me. It took me about another year after starting my relationship with the Lord and attending church- but I finally ended the toxic relationship. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my life at that point. This is when I would say I hit “my rock bottom.”
I thought everything would get better when he left, but it didn’t. I started drinking again and the days in between were less and less. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was losing control. I knew if I didn’t stop right then and ask for help, I wouldn’t make it. I was filled with anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, and the list goes on. For the first time in my life, I was having to handle life without the man I was with for almost 10 years, and try to do it without reaching for alcohol.
I realized during this time how much I didn’t know how to manage my emotions and how much I found my identity in that relationship and alcohol. At this point, I stopped trying to fit alcohol in my life and asked my pastors for help. I hired a sober coach and Christian counselor and got to work. It has been a journey, to say the least, these past few years, but gosh has God come through each and every battle.
He strategically placed the perfect church, pastors, and coaches in my path. He has turned what was so bad in my life for good. This leads me to where I’m at today, I am sober, dedicated to the Lord and now a Christian Life Coach helping other women do the same. I help women who are sober or sober curious navigate an alcohol-free lifestyle and grow in their faith. It’s been such an honor so far and I can’t wait to see what else God has in store.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road at all. The biggest struggles I’ve had along the way I would say was learning how to manage my emotions, set boundaries, and allow God to do what I couldn’t.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a Christian Life Coach who helps sober and sober curious women navigate life without alcohol. I would say what sets me apart is that everything I do as a coach, I strive to have it rooted in God’s word. I know that this isn’t “my business” it’s God and it’s all to glorify Him.
I know without God being in the midst of the work I do with my clients, they wouldn’t have the results they do.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I’ve learned along the way would be learning where my identity is found. Which for me that’s in Jesus. When you know your identity, you no longer have to look elsewhere. You no longer have to seek out counterfeit peace when you realize you’ve had it all along.
Contact Info:
- Email: Team.cleanandfit@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/thatsoberchristian?utm_medium=copy_link
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/236895490772641/
- Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM8bm6HhS/
