The hope of recovery.
I believe that it doesn't matter if you have one day or 30 days or six years or 15 years.
It's the quality of your recovery,
Not the quantity.
And I recognize that there is a difference between having a day of not drinking and a day of recovery.
I came into recovery desperately seeking the answer to not drinking.
And what I found is that it's much more than not putting that glass to my lips.
Early in my sobriety,
Someone said to me,
"'Carol,
How long are you gonna use the excuse "'that you are an alcoholic for not showing up in your life?
' "'It says in the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous,
"'we are not cured of alcoholism.
"'What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent "'on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.
"'Every day is a day when we must carry the vision "'of God's will into all of our activities.
"'How can I best serve thee?
"'Thy will,
Not mine,
Be done.
' "'These are thoughts that must go with us constantly.
'" And it says must,
Not should,
Not could,
Not maybe,
If we want to,
But must.
This is a new concept for many of us,
God's will,
Not our will.
One of my biggest questions early in my sobriety was how do I know if it's God's will or my will?
Most often,
I had to learn the hard way.
I came into recovery through God's grace.
However,
It's up to me to make the choice every day I ask myself,
Am I choosing not to drink today or am I choosing to be in recovery?
Recovery is an action word.
If you wanna find out about the miracle of sobriety,
Then get down to the business and action of recovery.
The truth about addiction is that in the end,
Alcohol robs us of the very things it gave us in the beginning,
Peace of mind,
Confidence,
Wit,
Relaxation.
In the beginning,
When I drank,
I thought anything was possible.
And in the end,
I was in such despair that I couldn't see how anything could be possible.
It's the only disease where the person who has it is in complete denial that they even have it.
We all have very different stories and we are even addicted to different things,
Alcohol,
Drugs,
Prescription pills,
But what we do share is a common bond,
A common strength.
We come together to do things that we couldn't do by ourselves,
And that is the miracle of getting sober and clean.
What I learned in recovery was courage,
Strength,
And hope.
When I first came into recovery,
I was so broken,
I learned that I didn't have to feel strong in order to be strong.
My recovery community carried the hope for me in the beginning when I couldn't see any in the unique stories of recovery and courage.
When I was drinking,
My life was all about distraction,
Distracting myself from responsibility,
People,
Places,
And situations.
Today,
My life is about distinction,
Living life with integrity,
Honesty,
Courage,
And faith.
If you're new to sobriety and to recovery,
You may be sitting there with a heavy heart,
With a lot of fears,
And facing some less than pleasant consequences.
The great poet Khalil Gibran wrote,
"'The deeper sorrow carves into your being,
"'the more joy you can contain.
"'You may be full of deep sorrow,
"'but I want you to know that this is where you belong,
"'and that you can walk through your fears "'and face those consequences.
"'Sorrow will pass,
And you will be left "'with this inner well that will start to fill with joy,
"'with new opportunities,
With new friends,
"'with financial solutions,
And with deeper faith.
"'And every single day that you don't pick up that drink,
"'your life will get better.
' It's a simple formula.
Number one,
Find a home recovery group and go to 90 meetings in 90 days.
Number two,
Get a sponsor and really work the 12 steps.
Don't be afraid of them.
They are life-changing.
Three,
Stay honest,
Open-minded,
And willing.
Four,
Pray and continually grow your connection with your higher power.
In other words,
Maintain your spiritual connection.
Five,
Pass it on.
It's hard to stay in fear or self-pity when we're doing something for someone else.
Life will always be full of challenges.
It's just the nature of being a human being on this planet.
It's up to us what we are going to do with that life and how we face those challenges.
We can let them grow us or defeat us.
It is completely up to us.
Winston Churchill said,
"'Success is not final,
Failure is not fatal.
It is the courage to continue that counts.
'" So what new dreams and successes are you going to create today?
What resentments,
Grievances,
And regrets are you gonna let go of today?
What level of recovery are you gonna choose to take yourself to today?
Mother Teresa said,
"'It was never between you and them anyway.
It was always between you and God.
'" I can absolutely assure you that your life will change if you focus on recovery.
That's the beauty of recovery if you're willing to do the work.
And then you'll pass it on to those who are coming in the door for the first time tomorrow.
And one day at a time,
We'll each have the opportunity to recreate our lives and recreate our dreams.
