Give the Gift of Hope
Hope is Where The Heart Is
Let me introduce you to my family. They’ve been with me since I first stumbled over the front steps and crawled up to my room at 15 through the day I told them I was quitting some 35 years later.
For 35 years, my family lived quietly with the dread of my addiction. They watched as I stumbled over front steps and crawled to my room, not just at 15 but so many times after.
They were the ones who answered the late-night phone calls, the ones who woke with worry, the ones who wondered where I could be and what could have happened.
They stood with me in the shadows where I was lost and they celebrated with me during the small moments of brightness that flickered and faded. They never stopped loving me, even when it made it impossible.
Is this true? Can this really be happening?
On the the day I told them I was quitting, the shock on their faces was almost the same as that first night when I was 15. Again, they asked “Can this be true? Is this really happening?” But this time, their eyes held more than just surprise. Their expressions of bewilderment now shined with hope, a reflection of their immense love and their profound desire for me to succeed. They had been silently wishing for this day for so long.
Now, almost three years into my recovery, they are still with me, but in a new way. As my confidence has grown, their hope has grown alongside it. I see it in their faces—the relief, the joy, and the immense pride. The infinite sadness they once held has been replaced by a powerful belief in me. They finally believe in me again, and that is a priceless gift for all of us.
I fostered my own hope for recovery in a LifeRing Saturday Chatroom with a group of supportive, strong peers—some with more sober time under their belts and others like me, just weaned off the bottle. Us young'uns shared our challenges, built our own toolboxes, and leaned on the experiences of those with more. We all shared a common goal and a common hope: recovery.
I was lucky to find LifeRing. Your donation will help us reach more people searching for self-empowerment through peer-to-peer recovery support. That's some serious gifting, my friends!
You can give the gift of hope to other families with loved ones in recovery by making a one-time or monthly donation:
Thank you from my family and from all of us who live in hope of recovery,
Sue
LifeRing Community Member, 2019