Every time I go to a meeting or receive a phone call from a friend or sit down at my computer to read comments on the posts I have written or open emails from readers who have been helped by one or another of my books, I sit back, stunned, by the impact of the changes that have occurred in my life simply because I got clean and sober. \u00a0I never, in my wildest dreams, expected to live the life I have been given. \u00a0And I no longer doubt that God orchestrated it all. There is simply no other reasonable explanation.<\/p>\n
I was thinking about this when my sisters and I were having lunch on Tuesday. We were celebrating my oldest sister’s birthday and I felt over-joyed that our lives had come together in such a meaningful way. \u00a0It wasn’t always this way between my sisters and me. \u00a0I was the family nay-sayer. \u00a0I was on the opposite side of all family discussions. \u00a0I took pride in not agreeing with them, in asserting that I was more open-minded. \u00a0Perhaps about some things I was but about them, I was far from being open-minded. \u00a0I accepted very little about them, their opinions, their values. \u00a0And my isolation from them was painful for all of us, particularly my parents. \u00a0Growing up<\/em><\/strong> pays off, doesn’t it?<\/p>\n Before my parents died we had a very peaceful co-existence. \u00a0I would even say that my mother and I developed a very close bond, in fact, one that grew out of an intimate conversation we had about her life and her dreams and how all of it had impacted me. \u00a0Even while she was pregnant for me. \u00a0We are the sum and substance of all that went before. \u00a0And the many people who have “escorted” us along the way have played a part in who we have become too. \u00a0Personally, I think that’s a marvelous set of circumstances. \u00a0What we must avoid, however, is placing more emphasis on one experience over another. \u00a0They all had their impact.<\/p>\n So back to my sisters and lunch. \u00a0We three, at 71, 76 and 81, laughed about old times and present situations. \u00a0We know we are there for each other. \u00a0That if we need a prayer or a helping hand, it will be extended. \u00a0Had I not honored God’s invitation for me to get sober, that lunch on Tuesday would not have happened. \u00a0Praise be to God.<\/p>\n Are you fully appreciative of all that has passed in your life? \u00a0Are you looking at today with gratitude?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every time I go to a meeting or receive a phone call from a friend or sit down at my computer to read comments on the posts I have written or open emails from readers who have been helped by one or another of my books, I sit back, stunned, by the impact of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-circle-of-family-and-friends-you-and-your-personal-community","category-reflections-in-the-mirror-you-and-yourself"],"yoast_head":"\n