Pursuit of Recovery

03/24/2026

Great Read,
Don’t shoot the messenger 🤓

Researchers concluded there was “very little evidence for its efficacy” in treating anxiety, anorexia nervosa, psychotic disorders...

03/23/2026

Mom’s Monday
📝Notes
On 11/03/04 my mother wrote:

“Don’t make the mistake of thinking God doesn’t really mean what He says.”

In recovery, this truth lands differently.

We used to negotiate everything—our limits, our consequences, even our worth. We bent rules, softened truths, and convinced ourselves “just this once” wouldn’t matter. But recovery teaches us something powerful: what God says is not optional—it’s protection.

When He says:
- Be still — it’s because chaos lives in our rushing.
- Tell the truth — it’s because secrets keep us sick.
- Set boundaries — it’s because peace requires them.
- Walk away — it’s because not everything is meant to be carried.

God doesn’t speak in suggestions. He speaks in direction, safety, and love.

In early sobriety, it can feel uncomfortable to trust that fully. We question. We hesitate. We want to control the outcome. But every time we override His guidance, we often find ourselves right back in the patterns we prayed to be free from.

Recovery is learning to trust that:
If He said it… He meant it.
And if He meant it… it’s for your healing.

Today’s reflection:
Where am I still negotiating what God has already made clear?
You don’t have to figure everything out—just be willing to follow what’s already been shown to you.

03/20/2026

Releasing

Let fears slip away. Release any negative, limiting, or self-defeating beliefs buried in your subconscious too. These beliefs may be about life, love, or yourself. Beliefs create reality.

Let go. From as deep within as your fears, resentments, and negative beliefs are stored, let them all go. Let the belief or feeling surface. Accept it; surrender to it. Feel the discomfort or unrest. Then let it go. Let new beliefs replace the old. Let peace and joy and love replace fear.

Give yourself and your body permission to let go of fears, resentments, and negative beliefs. Release that which is no longer useful. Trust that you are being healed and prepared for receiving what is good.

Today, God, help me become willing to let go of old beliefs and feelings that may be hurting me. Gently take them from me and replace them with new beliefs and feelings. I do deserve the best life and love has to offer. Help me believe that.

- Language of Letting Go🎈🎈

03/19/2026

How often do we create silent contracts in our minds—believing others should think, act, or respond the way we would? And when they don’t… resentment quietly creeps in.

Recovery teaches us to release expectations and embrace acceptance. When we let go of how things should be, we make room for peace, clarity, and healthier relationships.

Today, ask yourself:
👉 Where am I holding onto expectations?
👉 What would it feel like to let them go?

Freedom isn’t found in controlling others… it’s found in surrendering what we never controlled to begin with.

03/17/2026

Thank you as always for Reading🤓Happy Sober St. Patricks Day🍀♥️

https://www.pursuitofrecovery.com/blog/sweet-16-in-recovery-learning-to-drive-my-life-again

03/16/2026

Mom’s Monday📝Notes

On 1/28/02 my mother wrote:

“The Lord never walks only on one side of any situation.”

Recovery has a way of teaching us that life is rarely one-sided. When we are in addiction, we often see things only from our pain, our anger, or our fear. We believe our struggle is isolated and that we are walking through it alone.

But faith and recovery slowly open our eyes.

This quote reminds me that God is present on every side of a situation. He walks with the person who is struggling with addiction, and He also walks with the family members who are hurting. He walks with the one trying to forgive and with the one learning how to make amends.

In recovery, we begin to understand that healing requires humility—recognizing that our perspective is not the only perspective. When we pause and allow God into the middle of our circumstances, we begin to see compassion where there was once resentment, understanding where there was once blame, and growth where there was once pain.

God is not just standing with us.
He is working on all sides of the story.

And sometimes the greatest gift in recovery is realizing that while we were busy trying to control everything, God was already walking through the situation ahead of us.

Reflection Question for the Week

Where might God be working on the other side of a situation in your life right now that you have not yet considered?

03/14/2026

We may not be able to have everything we want in life. And we may sometimes get things we thought we wanted, then change our mind. But we still don’t have to torture ourselves by telling ourselves that we can’t have what we want.

What do you want? Do you know? Or have you shut that part of yourself down? Yes, we all have times of discipline. And there’s much to be learned by denying ourselves, at certain times, of certain pleasures. It’s not good to want something or someone so much that desire runs and rules our lives. And sometimes wanting what we can’t have can make life more interesting.

But it’s okay to open our hearts to ourselves and be clear about what we want in our small and larger choices. Learn to master desire.

Open your heart to what you want. Then say it. Pickles or olives, which will it be?

God, teach me to master my desires. Grant me the wisdom to know when something needs to be off-limits for me, and when I am unnecessarily depriving myself of the pleasures and joys here on earth.

-Language of Letting Go🎈🎈

03/11/2026

Sometimes life twists. Sometimes it goes the other way,too. Things happen. Sometimes we label these events good, sometimes bad. We cannot always see the reason or purpose in them, but most of us choose to believe there’s a Divine plan.

I don’t know why I’ve received some of the blessings I’ve been given. I don’t know why some of the sorrow has come my way. All I can do is trust that whatever comes my way, there’s a lesson at hand.

Are you focusing on the circumstances of your life instead of the lessons? The circumstances are the tools. Be involved in them. Feel the pain of loss and the elation of victory. Let compassion work its way into your soul. Learn caring and kindness for others and yourself,too.

Instead of asking why, learn to ask what the lesson is. The moment you become ready to accept it, the lesson will become clear.

God, help me accept all the twists and turns along my way. Help me learn to say whatever to the good and the unfortunate incidents that come my way.

-Language of Letting Go🎈🎈

03/10/2026

Mom’s Monday📝 Notes
On February 1, 2005
My mother wrote:
“With each trial we mature in our walk.”

When I read this, I immediately think about recovery.

None of us walk into recovery without trials. In fact, most of us arrive because the trials have finally caught up with us. Addiction, broken relationships, shame, fear, and consequences can feel overwhelming. At first, those trials feel like punishment. But over time, something remarkable begins to happen.

They become teachers.

Recovery teaches us that every difficult moment—every relapse scare, every hard conversation, every time we have to look honestly at ourselves—is an opportunity to grow. The trials that once felt like they were destroying us are actually shaping us.

They mature us.

They deepen our faith.
They strengthen our character.
They teach humility.
They teach gratitude.

Before recovery, many of us tried to escape trials. We numbed them, avoided them, or ran from them. But recovery invites us to do something different—to walk through them, one day at a time.

And with each step, we mature.

Not because life gets easier, but because we get stronger, wiser, and more spiritually grounded.

Today I’m reminded that trials are not the end of the story. They are often the very path that leads us closer to healing, to purpose, and to the person we were meant to become.

Sometimes the very thing we wish had never happened becomes the thing that transforms us the most.

And that is part of the walk.

Reflection Question:
What trial in your life has ultimately helped you grow into a stronger or more compassionate person?

03/06/2026

We don’t get to control other people’s choices — but we do get to choose how we respond.

In recovery, this is one of the most freeing truths we can learn. Someone else’s behavior may impact us, and it’s okay to speak up, set boundaries, or take action when needed. But their decisions are still their responsibility.

Our job is to stay in our lane:
our reactions,
our healing,
our growth.

Feel the feelings.
Set the boundary.
Let go of the control.

That’s where peace begins. 🤍

📚📚Book: Co-Crazy One Psychologist’s Recovery from Codependency and Addiction
-Sarah Michaud, PsyD

03/05/2026

This quote from Nedra Tawwab💕 speaks directly to one of the core truths in recovery: change begins when we stop defending our behavior and start taking responsibility for it.

In active addiction—or even in unhealthy relational patterns like codependency or people-pleasing—people often say, “That’s just how I am.” It becomes a shield that protects the behavior from being examined. It suggests that change is impossible, when in reality it’s often that change feels uncomfortable, scary, or unfamiliar.

Recovery gently but firmly challenges that belief.

When someone enters recovery, they begin to see that many of the things they once called “personality” were actually patterns, defenses, or survival strategies. The good news is that patterns can be changed.

Recovery teaches us that:
• We can pause instead of reacting.
• We can set boundaries instead of pleasing everyone.
• We can tell the truth instead of hiding behind old habits.
• We can choose growth instead of staying stuck.

Saying “That’s just how I am” keeps us trapped in yesterday’s version of ourselves.
Recovery invites a new question:

“Who do I want to become?”

The beautiful truth is that every day in recovery offers a new choice. We are not condemned to repeat our past behaviors—we are capable of learning, healing, and becoming someone healthier than we were yesterday.

✨ In recovery, identity is not fixed.
It is rebuilt through willingness, honesty, and action.

Reflection question for recovery:
Where in your life have you been saying “That’s just how I am”—and what might change if you allowed yourself to grow beyond that story?

03/04/2026

Thank you for Reading!

“Listen to Hear, Not to Speak” In recovery, we spend a lot of time learning how to speak honestly. We learn to admit our faults, share our stories, and tell the truth about where we’ve been and where we’re going. But…. there is another skill that may be even more powerful…. Listening.