We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Watkins recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica , thanks for joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

Honestly, Jesus Loves a Hot Mess LLC is my whole message. The name just fit. I’ve been a hot mess my whole life. I still am! I struggled with addiction for over a decade. I was an atheist/agnostic girl who did not believe in Jesus or want anything to do with religion. I came to the end of my proverbial rope 13 years ago, and ended up in a Christian rehab for women who struggle with drug and alcohol addiction. I met Jesus in rehab and he completely changed my life.

It’s been amazing and crazy all at the same time. I dealt with what I call the aftermath of addiction: the craziness of early recovery, anger, anxiety, depression, relationship issues, you name it. And I know I’m not the only one.

Recovery is a hot mess, it really is. But it’s awesome. I’m amazed at the things God calls me to do and places he has taken me, while at the same time trying to live everyday life (sober) that gets thrown at us sometimes.

So that’s my message: recovery is a hot mess, but Jesus specializes in hot messes. So, there’s that. Literally, we mess up daily in recovery, but Jesus is there to pick us up and continues to use us, not in spite of, but because of the mess. I want people to know it’s ok to not be ok. We’re all imperfect and struggle in recovery at times, but Jesus loves us, hot mess and all. I want to normalize admitting when we’re struggling and need help, no matter how long we’ve been in recovery.

I considered using my tag line/slogan (Messy.Sober.Loved.)\ as the name for the company since the name “Jesus” might scare people away.
But the world needs to see us being bold for the name of Jesus, so I didn’t back down from it. Plus, that’s a risk I’m willing to take considering all that Jesus has done for me, and I know he will do it for others. That’s what I felt God lead me to do, so here we are. If you feel like a hot mess in recovery, you’re not alone, and Jesus loves that kind of stuff. My prayer is for people to have a bangin’ relationship with Jesus where sobriety is a really cool side effect.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Well, I think I’ve answered some of that already! I’ve been in recovery for almost 13 years and love all things recovery. I’ve been involved at Celebrate Recovery at church and have had the opportunity to help lead women’s groups, speak at events, and teach during our recovery meetings. I love it. I’m so grateful for the group of women Jesus has put in my life, I don’t know where I’d be without their support. I want other women to be able to experience a piece of that.

I don’t know if it’s like this for everyone, but struggles with mental health continue to be a huge part of my recovery. As a nurse practitioner, I use my knowledge and background to, I’ve used that knowledge and background to research holistic ways to deal with the anger, anxiety and depression in my own recovery. Mental health issues (especially untreated) are a big reason people relapse. Creating resources, courses and materials to address these problems is a huge priority. We have a new workshop to help navigate the holidays sober, and plans to release my first book at beginning of the year.

I’ve always wanted to create what I needed, a safe space for women to plug in and get support, prayer and encouragement on days they’re not at a meeting. A place they know they’re going to get tools that not only help them fulfill their purpose, but also point them to Jesus.

We are growing a messy sober girl gang to help women overcome the aftermath of addiction so they can live lives of impact. My vision is so much bigger and there are plans for an online recovery program in the future, but for now, this is what we offer: an opportunity to have that private space to share their struggles, get support and be a part of this amazing community!

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Yes, plenty! Specifically in the technology department. I’d be lying if I said that’s not been a huge hurdle for me! Like I said, I started a blog/website years and years ago when I didn’t know anything about that stuff. I currently use Substack which is where I spend majority of my time writing and growing community. Not only do I wish I’d known about it; I don’t know that it even existed! It’s been a huge headache saver for me. Technology amazes me at how far it’s come today to make it easier for one-person hustles like me and other creatives to do what we do best. These new platforms like Substack and Patreon free us up from the back end of trying to figure out all the logistics so we can write, podcast, video, whatever it is we do best…create!
User/creative friendly platforms are a lifesaver for me. Like I said, years ago when I started out I’m not sure these things even existed. Technology blows my mind how far it’s come in the last few years to make it more accessible for anybody to bring their creative gifts to the world.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I still wake up everyday and thinking “shouldn’t I be farther along in my recovery than I am right now”, or “shouldn’t I be farther along in life?” I mean, I’ve always had this passion and this vision for an online recovery space since the day I got into recovery almost 13 years ago. Jesus Loves a Hot Mess started as a blog seven years ago when I didn’t know the first thing about websites or anything techie!! However, at that time my ex was living in full-blown addiction, and I was literally in survival mode, but still had a passion to write.

I continued to write down my ideas, blog posts, journal, and outline all my courses (that I’m working on bringing to fruition now!) and never gave up on writing or recording my ideas. But I get frustrated when I see other people who are 2-3 years sober doing all these amazing things when I know the things I want to do and have vision for (hello, comparison!). I mean, I cheer for others, but I’m like, “Lord, what the crap is wrong with me?”

Why am I not out there doing what I’m called to do? Why am I not farther along than this by now?

But for whatever reason (and looking back on what I was dealing with then) it just wasn’t the right time. I was busy surviving trying to deal with chaos, codependency, and anxiety of living through someone else’s addiction while trying to stay sober. So, as much as I get down on myself, I probably shouldn’t.

I still feel passionate about bringing Jesus Loves A Hot Mess LLC to life. I still love this stuff, I still eat, sleep and breathe recovery every day. Do I compare myself to others? Yes. But I still haven’t given up on my goals just because I’ve had a lot of issues in my personal life that made it really difficult to do this before now.
So wherever you are in your journey, it’s not too late. You might be right on time!! Don’t give up.

Contact Info:

• Website: Jesuslovesahotmess.com
• Instagram: @jesuslovesahotmessrecovery
• Facebook: @Jesuslovesahotmess

Image Credits
Brian Watkins