January 20, 2012
I am praying for protection and favor for my family. I am so blessed to have the parents and sisters that I have! I told my life story in front of our community meeting yesterday. I had people approaching me all day with “your family is so normal” – “you had such a good upbringing” – “how did you end up here?”
One of my closest friends wanted to see a picture of my family. When I showed it to her, tears filled her eyes. “You have such a beautiful family, you should be home with them.” – I agree. 
I am in the relationships phase of my program and we are talking about the roles we’ve played in our relationships. There are 3 roles: the victim, the neglector, and the manipulator. And I am remembering all these times that I did my family so wrong. And they love me in spite of it. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for them to watch me take a path of destruction and not be able to do anything about it. Thank God I got a praying Momma! Thank God my parents are determined to not let this happen again. I admire the strength of anyone who has had to watch a loved one struggle with addiction. I admire the strength of my family. I pray that when Ashley’s breakthrough comes – that we NEVER have to face this in our family again!