How Finding God Helped Me Find Sobriety

Written by:

Melissa Pena

I hear from many people that there is only one way to get sober: through a program. Let me tell you this; that is entirely wrong. There are many ways to get sober. You could try getting sober at home, working a 12-step program, in jail, or finding God.

I remember my first round of recovery; I was a white-knuckling dry drunk. Many might not know what this is. I was the person who did recovery at home, without a program, and without God. I was not changing my people, places, or things. I was still running with the same crowd and wondered why I struggled to stay sober. I can say I did stay sober for five years, but it was the most miserable five years.

One dark day, I was struggling badly, and it was not long before someone I was hanging with handed me my death sentence, and from there, my life came crashing down. For the next four years became the worse relapse ever. Four years later, I decided to do recovery again. This time I still stayed at home, but I changed my people, places, and things I did. I also found a program that worked for me; it was called Celebrate Recovery; I also found God. I now realized what I was missing all along; for me, it was God and a program. Through this program, I learned who I was and who God was.

Recovery is a beautiful thing when you find what works for you. Please do not let someone tell you that you cannot recover at home because you can. Find what works best for you and share your story.