In this powerful testimony, Meg Harkins shares how alcoholism, isolation, and liver failure brought her to a breaking point—and how surrendering fully to Jesus led to instant freedom and lasting healing. Now nearly five years sober, Meg Harkins helps women overcome fear, step into obedience, and boldly say yes to the calling God has placed on their lives.
In this deeply honest episode of Healed. Whole. Called., Wendy Melrose sits down with Meg Harkins, a wife, mother of three sons, and ministry leader who knows firsthand what it means to be taken, broken, and sent.
Meg’s hardest season unfolded in 2020. Beneath the surface of everyday life, she was battling a severe alcohol addiction—one she refused to name, even as those closest to her expressed concern. The breaking point came when she slipped in her kitchen and fractured her hip. Alone in a hospital during the height of COVID, testing positive and isolated for days before surgery, she endured not only physical pain but deep emotional trauma. She was detoxing in a hospital bed while facing the consequences of years of self-medication.
Even that was not the end of the spiral. Months later, she was hospitalized again—this time in acute liver failure. Her children did not know if she would survive. It was there, at the edge of her life, that Meg finally surrendered. She laid everything at the feet of Jesus and admitted what she had been unwilling to say: she could not fix herself.
What followed was not gradual willpower—it was deliverance. Meg had been drinking a bottle of whiskey a day. Yet from the moment she left the hospital in February 2020, she has not craved alcohol. As she approaches five years of sobriety, she testifies that the freedom was not self-generated. It was the mercy of God.
But healing did not stop with sobriety. In prayer, the Lord began guiding her into deeper restoration—addressing nutrition, stress, and lifestyle patterns that had contributed to her physical decline. She radically changed her diet, releasing sugar, alcohol, and inflammatory foods, learning to nourish her body instead of numbing it. Even when professionals advised caution, she discerned the Lord’s direction and chose obedience.
Through that process, God rebuilt her life. He provided a new, lower-stress job. He introduced mentors and health coaches at the right time. He restored her relationship with her sons, transforming shame into testimony. Instead of hiding her struggle, Meg chose transparency, and her sons became some of her strongest supporters—learning that struggle does not equal weakness, and that asking for help is strength.
What began as personal healing became public ministry.
Meg launched a health coaching business that eventually evolved into something even more aligned with her calling. In recent months, the Lord led her to shift from nutrition coaching into deeper discipleship work. She now hosts women’s retreats and leads a group coaching program called Learn to Say Yes—designed for women who sense God calling them forward but feel paralyzed by fear.
The heart behind Learn to Say Yes was formed years earlier when Meg worked in hospice care and heard a patient confess that his greatest regret was not saying yes to the opportunities placed before him. She carried that lesson into motherhood, teaching her sons to embrace courage over comfort. Now, she teaches women the same truth—say yes to God’s assignment, not recklessly, but obediently.
This episode is not about perfection. It is about surrender. It is about what happens when a woman stops looking backward—like Lot’s wife—and chooses to step forward in faith.
For the woman listening who sees herself in Meg’s story—whether through addiction, domestic violence, shame, or fear—the invitation is simple and profound: ask for help. Tell one person. Turn to Jesus. You do not have to overturn your entire life overnight. One surrendered step can change everything.
God still takes what is broken, blesses it, and multiplies it for His glory.
How to Connect With the Guest
Website: http://www.anchorednutrition.net
Facebook:
Meg Strahan Harkins
Email:
meg.anchorednutrition@gmail.com
Retreat Location:
Warren, Pennsylvania
Upcoming Retreats:
March (limited spots remaining), June, and September
Connection details for additional retreats and cohort opportunities are shared through Meg’s Facebook page and direct email inquiry.