Mostly fruit and a little nuts lucky shannon Stepping up in Floral Florida

My name is Shannon and I am a grateful recovering alcoholic.  I am a mother of two beautiful young ladies, a business owner, a community activist, a student and a public speaker, just to scratch the surface. However, none of these things would ever have been possible though without God, honest surrender and a twelve step program. I have been attempting recovery for 9 years. However, I have over 4 years truly sober. I was not one of the ones who got it the first time.  I had to beat myself over the head with a brick about six times before my miracle happened.  Even in those low times, I learned something.  I learned that I was increasingly getting sick and tired of the cycle.  For me, rock bottom was not just the end of an old way of thinking and behaving as much as it was the foundation for a new beginning. It was a new way of life and a change in my thinking, because at the core of my alcoholism and addictions is the manner in which I think.

 Out with the old…In with the new. 

It seemed like it took me forever to get through the twelve steps the first time. I resisted and kicked and screamed and only seemed to get lower.  Then, one day, I stopped resisting and started accepting.  I needed a complete overhaul.  For me, understanding something is required to fully change it.  I needed therapy and introspection to find the reason for such negative and destructive thinking before I, personally, could even begin to accept it. That is where the healing began. Now, I go through the steps daily partnered with a healthy and very conscious contact with God.  They have given me a suggested outline, step by step instructions, if you will, on how to cope with life while my Higher Power fills the void I once tried to fill with substances. Accepting what is and going along with the flow rather than against the current is how I am rolling today.