While perusing the card selection at Mennard’s the other day, I came across this one and fell out laughing. I immediately thought of several people I could send this to, and I couldn’t wait to do so.
I sent the above photo to nine special friends individually and received their responses almost immediately. They loved the unexpected chuckle! It made me feel good, knowing I’d uplifted their day a little.
What’s special about these women is that, with the exception of just two, they are all in recovery like me. Our backgrounds and ages are very diverse, and yet our stories are the same. “We are people who normally would not mix. But there exists among us a fellowship, a friendliness, and an understanding which is indescribably wonderful.” We have all been broken and brought into submission by an evil force—in our case, alcohol—but we’ve all beaten it, and continue to do so with the help the 12-Steps and our fellowship. It’s been both amazing, comforting and somewhat eerie that these special friends and I share very, very similar stories of what it used to be like, what happened, and what we’re like now. But that’s exactly what creates our special bond.
It’s because we are so alike in so many ways—the good AND the bad—that we can laugh. And as long as we keep trudging the road of happy destiny, we can laugh at ourselves and not take ourselves so seriously. I thank God for the joy of laughter!
All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast. ~Proverbs 15:15
