Addictions

Recovery: The Light At The End Of The Tunnel By Jay Bartels

They say you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. That is the struggle our friends and families are up against until we finally agree to go to a 12 step meeting. In the years that I've been in recovery, I have felt that feeling of hopelessness many times while trying to express these words to them ."If I could come out of the gutter and live as a responsible member of society, then there is no reason why you couldn't receive the same blessings as I have". When they finally decide to attend a meeting with me, all I can do is pray that they hear something that just clicks in their head, a voice inside them telling them “I can do this". When I finally had enough pain and still didn't believe I could change, it was the other recovering addicts that refused to accept that, they gave me love, and by seeing the miracles in their lives, I found a bit of hope that maybe I too can have a life and be freed from bonds of my addiction and self- affliction.

They tried to show me “The light at the end of the tunnel", but always thought that light to be a train coming, and at times that seemed like an easy way out. But God had other plans for me, and he put many people in my life who brought a strong message of hope, and an abundance of faith. I put my trust in these messengers and finally found my faith, I began to believe, if they could change their lives by surrendering their will, then it was apparent that I must do the same in order to receive the same blessings. I had hope, where there once was doubt; I had faith that God had bigger and better plans for me. I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, and my purpose here is to touch as many hearts as possible, and to give hope to those who are where I once was. I strive to give them faith that they can have a new lease on life once they surrender their will, and turn it over to a higher power. Once you do this, I can safely walk you through the tunnel and lead you towards the beauty of the light. In the light is where you were always meant to be, free from your worries, surrounded in happiness, living life instead of running from it.

With faith comes serenity, with surrender comes victory. With each new day we learn how precious life can be and we regain our gratitude for the simple things in life, things that normally go unnoticed and unappreciated by most people. I know it's not easy at first when we are contemplating getting clean. Courage is not about being fearless, on the contrary, courage is when we fear something but take the action to face, no matter how afraid we may be. That's the courage it took for me seek help and allow others who cared about me to help me through it. It's about having faith that your life will be filled with miracles once you surrender your will, and one day my friend it will be you writing these letters or leading meetings for those who are still suffering. You see, we are all in this together, a fellowship of people just like you and me. We can only keep what we have by giving it away, which is why I choose to give hope to addicts by telling them my miraculous story of recovery once I was able to step into the beauty of the light. Many Blessings.

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