As I have shared with you about the young “street-addict” that shared with me she wanted to get away from the lifestyle she has known for 14 of her 30 years, I would like to share with you a letter she sent from “treatment” that brings me joy to read. If you have not read or know of the “Daughter in Recovery” I speak of, feel free to “browse” through previous posts that refer to her.
“Dad,
Well, I’m almost there and boy I’m ready. Oh, guess what alot of the girls here say, I have blossomed so much and they say I have alot of determination and acceptance of my past. They are all very happy for me, and hearing that coming from other people who hardly even knows me really says alot and makes me feel so great that I’m starting to ‘Love Me’. I am very proud of myself. Thank you Dad. You don’t have to sign your cards “Gary” because “you are my dad now, and always, seriously, will be.” ………. Love, your daughter, Nichole”
I visited Nichole yesterday at the treatment facility and she indicated she does not want to ever go back to anyone or anything that was associated with her life “on the streets and using ‘crack cocaine’ or drinking. She wants to experience a life she has never known before this. This is her second time to enter treatment, but I pray that now she sees that the disease we suffer from, addiction, is so cunning and baffling that it is easy to “slide back under that rock we crawled out from under”. To see another addict find hope in recovery is alot like seeing the “Hand of God” perform a miracle. It is amazing and to understand how hard recovery can be to finally decide we are willing to whatever it takes is rewarding. Caring is sharing what I have with another, even if it is only my experience, strength, and hope in recovery with another who may be as sick or sicker than I. Showing another that they can be loved will help them realize they can love themselves.
After I left from visiting Nichole, I traveled to Brenham to share with the joy of another friend who went through treatment and is now staying in a Christian Sober Living environment. We had a great steak dinner, attended a meeting, then shared about God, our lives, and recovery. I am blessed to have such a loving God that He places others in my life to share His love with.
…. Thanks for letting me share ~ gary m (a grateful addict in recovery since Nov. 1,2008) a.k.a. ~ Da Dillo
I rejoice and praise God every time I hear about someone beating addiction!! May Nicole live the rest of her days clean and sober. I pray for her…..
Thanks for being there for her and for many others Gary!!!
Love you!!!
Joyce