Nothing Is Final—Only the Beginning of the New

 

Dear Reader,

Have you ever reached a point where it feels as though you’ve done it all—that nothing new could possibly come from life’s experiences? I have felt this often. Though I have maintained sobriety for a significant time and found a home in my faith and church community, the challenge now is to take that foundation and build something even better—something happier, fuller, and more alive.

This past week, I carried the message of recovery to a detox house, went to a movie on a whim, and even considered a stronger commitment to the gym. These may seem simple, but to me they are new adventures—things I once denied myself after my husband passed away. Each aligns with my core values, yet brings a much-needed variety and vitality.

Leonardo da Vinci once said, “Obstacles cannot crush me; every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.” That resolve is what allows me to step into the new. Friedrich Nietzsche echoed this truth: “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” I know this by experience. When I accepted life without drugs or alcohol, I began turning hopelessness into small successes, one step at a time. Those small steps became springboards to rebuild my home, reconnect with family, and restore integrity in my work.

But none of it came instantly. Nearly three years after getting sober, I was finally able to build a bridge of communication with my son. Together, we learned to stop staring backward into the shadows and instead turn toward the light, where shadows fall behind us. Søren Kierkegaard’s words remind me: “It is not the path which is the difficulty, but the difficulty which is the path.”

AA’s Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions speaks with equal power: “Indeed, the attainment of greater humility is the foundation principle of each of AA’s Twelve Steps. For without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all. Without it, they cannot rise from their falls.” Humility stripped away my false pride and made me teachable. As I began to follow suggestions, my sense of self-worth grew, and the saying “Fall seven times, stand up eight” became real in my life.

My faith has strengthened this pattern of rising after every slip. The Lord has become the staff I lean upon when standing feels impossible. These words in particular have carried me:

• “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.” — Micah 7:8

• “Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” — 2 Corinthians 4:9

• “Our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble but by the number of times we stand up, dust ourselves off, and stride forward.” — President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

• “The Lord loves effort, because effort brings rewards that can’t come without it.” — President Russell M. Nelson

I testify that falling is never final. Through grace, endurance, and the Savior’s help, rising again is not only possible but transformative.

Amen.