"If we are painstaking about this phase of our development we will be amazed before we are half way through"… AA Big Book pg 83

Well, I have done all 12 steps… and I am truly amazed still on a regular basis. This quote references the 9th step… the promises begin to come true in your life half way through making amends to the people you have hurt…

My life today is amazing. I have a wonderful husband and great marriage. I live in a city that people dream of vacationing in. I have a stable job that I enjoy. My relationship with my family is better than I ever hoped. I had dinner with my biological father yesterday… a relationship that once caused me huge anxiety and pain. There is no where I am afraid to go and no one I am afraid to see. These are all gifts the program has given me…

But the biggest gifts have happened recently… I have been legally blind since I was 12 years old. The surface of my eyes were also badly scarred. Only in the last 2 years has the technology been available to fix them… and the only doctor I could go to didn't take insurance… and digging up that kind of cash was an overwhelming challenge. Out of the blue my grandmother told me she would cover it. The doctor took $4000 of the price for me! My grandmother wrote a check for the whole remaining amount! Today… for the first time in 23 years, I can see. A gift I never would have believed possible…

The steps have made me trustworthy. My relationship with my grandmother has improved to the point that she was willing to do this for me. I will be forever grateful…

Gift #2… "Fear of economic insecurity will leave us." pg 84

My Hoop has been unable to work for a couple of months because of an injury. (Hoop and I are married for any that don't knowhehe). We had plowed through our savings (yes, a savings accout is another gift of recovery) and were at the point of draining the stock accounts (yes, we own stock, not something that would ever happen when we were loaded). Pulling from our stocks right now would have meant massive losses and high taxes at the end of the year.

I was able to stay serene for a bit, knowing we would be okay no matter what, but panic was starting to creep in. Two days before we would have had to make the choice to drain our remaining accounts a check arrived that puts us way ahead again.  

I know a lot of people get turned off by the program of AA or NA. I still do from time to time. So I stay away from the a**holes, the self righteous, the control freaks, and the overly religious. The program is in the steps. Try them…

The steps brought my life back to "blank canvas" to make a masterpiece of my own design. I hope they give you the peace, love, and life they have given me!