[Sheryl85]

I wanted to share this with my SR family.

I’m so glad that I have this program to help me when I need it most. As some of you may know I’ve been going through some tough times right now. My mom has been sick for the last couple of months and things have not been getting any better. Today my sister called and said that they were going to transfer her to the hospital from the care facility. She had contracted pneumonia and several other complications that had caused a high fever (and possible brain damage) and we were pretty sure that there was not going to be recovery. The quality of life was no longer there and our main concern now was that she could be as comfortable as possible. We also decided that I should make the 200 mile drive from Waco to San Antonio in the morning.

Tonight I felt I needed to be at a meeting because I was dealing with some anger issues. Mom’s condition was upsetting enough, but earlier today, during the hour that my sister had gone over to our dad’s to get a bite to eat (my parents have been divorced for over twenty years), someone went into my mother’s room at the care center and stole the ring off her finger. (Her hands had become so swollen that we could not get it off ourselves and she had asked us not to cut it off.) I don’t know how they managed it, but mom must have been pretty unresponsive at this point. My sister came back and when she went to hold my mom's hand she noticed that the ring was gone. I couldn’t believe it. Who would rob a dying woman? Anyway, I just needed a meeting to help me keep it all together.

There was a young man there tonight that didn’t have much time in the program and he was hurting and going through a crisis of his own. The topic was on acceptance and facing life on life’s terms and he happened to speak up to say why he was there and that he really needed the meeting tonight. My husband shared after that and told a little of what we were going through and explained how each of us could stay sober in spite of the circumstances we find ourselves in. Several other people also shared and talked about how the program gives us the tools to meet calamity with serenity and then I started to share. I had just gotten out that I was glad the young man had come and that I knew what he felt about not really wanting to be there tonight, but knowing it’s where we needed to be (with other alcoholics and addicts) because I felt the same way. I was going to say more but my phone vibrated at that moment and I saw that it was my sister calling. I excused myself and said I needed to take that call and left the room. I was told that my mom had just passed away.

Well, I can tell you that this alcoholic couldn’t have been in a better place. My husband came to where I was in one of the private meeting rooms and I told him the news. When the meeting was over I had so many people come and tell me that they would be praying for me and my family and they hugged me. Boy, did I ever need that. It didn’t take away the pain, but it sure did help lighten the load I felt I carried. I feel I am so blessed to have this program and the friends that I have made in these rooms. And it’s not just that. With the help of this Program I have found the strength which allows me to face life on life’s terms. My mom may be gone, but I don’t have to try and blot out the pain with alcohol or drugs. I have been given the strength to face the rough times I know are ahead of me and my family and I continue to find comfort from a source that is far greater than any chemical I could put into my body.

Your thoughts and prayers would be greatly appreciated at this time. To each of us who are going through tough times right now, may we each find the comfort needed from a Power Greater than ourselves. God bless and keep each of you...

Sheryl