Having what you want

I showed up to Warriors Heart Lodge broken angry and hungover in September of 2023, I couldn’t even make it three days between an inpatient rehab and my flight to Texas without drinking.  When I got to the lodge there was another warrior who was just happy all the time and I hated him for it.  I remember thinking why is he happy were in sober living, I had just personally blown up my entire life leaving a long wake of damage in the aftermath.  What I know now is this warrior had worked the 12 steps of alcoholics anonymous and was working a good program.  Then I had an epiphany which I now know was my higher power, instead of hating him maybe I should ask him why he is so happy and maybe one day I could be happy too.  So, I asked him to be my temporary sponsor for my time at the lodge and it was one of the best decisions I have made in my life.  When I talked to him, he told me his story and the things he had been through, made what I was going through seem so insignificant in comparison.  But despite all the things he had been through in his life he was genuinely happy, and he attributed it to working the steps, doing service work for others and working with other like me.  So, I decided that day that I was going to try that, not knowing if it was going to work but, I knew what I had been doing definitely wasn’t working.  Today I am still in regular contact with this warrior who just picked up his chip for being two years and sponsors multiple people and does amazing work in the community.  I had been putting off finishing my eight and ninth step but listening to him talk about how helping the people he sponsors has motivated me to finish working the steps.  So, I can sponsor other people who are struggling like I was when I showed up in Bandera.  His work in the community has inspired me to start volunteering my time for an organization called Semper Fi Mission who helps the veterans and the homeless population in and around the city of Pittsburgh.  Through this organization I’ve been to do multiple events including Prayer Cuts where we give haircuts, food, and clothing items to the needy and multiple clothing and food outreaches.  We do two events a month and every Monday the Co-founder Chuck Ondo goes into the Allegheny County Jail to the veteran’s pod and share hope and ministry.  On Monday I get to go for my second time and share my message which today is a message that there is hope.  Today I am almost one year sober, and I get to be a father to my beautiful nine-month-old daughter and it all started when I asked that warrior that I was so angry at for help because he had something that I wanted, happiness.