- Alcohol
- Drugs
- Faith
My name is Dani Lynn and my life truly changed on December 23, 2015 by the Grace of God and the Universe. I started using drugs and alcohol at a very young age and couldn’t point out a specific situation that happened that made me turn to drugs and alcohol as my escape from reality. I just wanted to feel comfortable in my own skin and I was unsure of how to do that. I had watched many people in my life use alcohol on a daily basis and some of my closest loved ones use drugs, so I thought that was a normal thing to do. I never would have thought that once I started, it would have become such a part of my life and that it would have become so difficult to stop.
My addiction brought me to places I would have never thought I would have been. I became homeless, hopeless and helpless.
I would dumpster dive to find food, clothes and items I could use to “build a home” in an alley. I thought the way I was living was as much “living” as I could do, but really I was just “existing” barely… I had lost all contact with my loved ones, I thought the other homeless drug users were my “friends” and I thought the drugs I used were my “true love”. I thought prayer was asking God to help me survive one more night so I could use one more day. I was delusional and didn’t even know it. I use to beg cops to take me to jail so I could shower, sleep in a bed and eat a shitty meal.
I wasn’t sure what that meant for me, or if it was possible but I was willing to go to any length to find out. I sought out help from my family, who wanted nothing to do with me until they were sure I was ready to change. My family all pulled together for me and found a really hard rehab program that was 12 Step based, that I ended up staying in for just over a year. In that year I learned how to wake up at a regular time every day, eat breakfast, attend 12 Step meetings and groups that were all based around learning how to love myself so I could become a useful person to others, we did 4 hours of outside chores every weekend (which in Arizona’s summer, isn’t easy but I was reminded; “was I willing to go to ANY length to stay sober”), and I was.
I learned how to get a job and pay my own way. I learned how to get honest with myself and others, I learned how to build a belief system, values and morals that were true and aligned with love. To me, God meant Love. Everything I wanted in life was about love. I just wanted to feel love, but in order to feel love I had to give love to others and in order to do that, I had to love myself first. I started to love myself by doing the next right thing in every aspect of my life. I worked the 12 steps of AA and started to get an understanding of myself, who I was, who I wanted to be and what I wanted in life.
I GET to live the principles of the program on a daily basis, I GET to help others find their ways, I GET to be of service to others in this world. I GET to spend time with my loved ones, I GET to take care of a cat, I GET to be in a healthy loving relationship with a man who truly cares about me, and I GET to show true love back to him. I GET to pray for others before myself, I GET to pray to be of maximum service to others. I GET to live a healthy sober life on a daily basis, ONE DAY AT A TIME and you can too!