Staying Sober and Living in Recovery

Staying Sober and Living in Recovery: Three Ways That Worked for Me

Getting sober was nothing I really had planned. Honestly, doing drugs and staying in addiction wasn’t either.

My childhood was rocky at first, but then my grandparents adopted me and I had a pretty good life. I didn’t want for anything, my needs were met, and I had two great role models guiding my path.

Through a series of events and what I now know to be anxiety, I picked up my first use and never looked back. My nursing career went down the drain, I ended up with several felonies on my record, and I had no one to turn to in the midst of the darkness I had created.

Getting sober wasn’t hard. I was essentially forced through the Oklahoma Court System. After that, it was up to me to stay sober—and here are three ways that I did that.

1. Get in the Middle

Something my AA sponsor told me early on was to get in the middle of the crowd. By doing that, I created a barrier to the outside world of influences and surrounded myself with like-minded people who were pursuing the same goals.

I followed the ones who had gone before me and allowed them to lay my new path in front of me, helping me achieve long-term sobriety.

2. Work a Thorough and Honest Program

For a long time, I walked around telling a lot of lies—to others and to myself. After a while, I honestly didn’t know what was true and what wasn’t anymore.

As I worked through my process addiction of codependency, part of the journey was getting my story straight. I had already dismantled many of the lies in my Alcoholics Anonymous program, but I realized I was still telling myself things that were keeping me from the authentic self-love I needed.

So I got my story straight—at a gut-wrenching, honest level.

3. Say Yes to Jesus and Let His Will Take Control

I knew who God was. My grandma was a secretary at the church. I was at every function and grew up running the halls of church.

But through my addiction, I let the ruler of this world, Satan, take over. I believed his lies and went down a path of destruction.

Early in my sobriety, I was rebaptized. From that point forward, I said yes to Jesus and committed to following His will for my life.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun.”

A New Life

These three things gave me the beautiful life I have today. I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, and a granddaughter again.

Jesus is my healer and guide, and I have a community of like-minded people who support me in my recovery.

I have hope today.