Our Faith and Recovery Journey

Hi my name is Brandie and I am a Recovering Addict. I will be sharing Our Faith and Recovery Journey in hopes to spread awareness that, We Do In Fact Recover! Our Faith and Recovery Journey. Where we will be sharing the past, present, and all of our experience, strength and hopes.

Backstory 

I started drinking at 14. I started heavily drinking by 17 and moved out of my home where I had been raised by grandparents and an aunt. It didn’t take me long, at all, to experiment with everything under the sun after that. Before I knew it I was lost in a very bad way and had pushed away every person I had ever cared about. I became addicted to meth at the age of 20 and struggled with that addiction until the age of 30.

It was in April of 2014 when I met my husband Shane at treatment. I was going through a divorce and really had no where to return to and definitely didn’t care to go back to where I had been. I was looking for a fresh start in life and needed it desperately. It was April 25th 2014 when I arrived at ASAC in Cedar Rapids, IA. It was not my first time here. I had been here at the age of 18. Shane and I both had a previous history with meeting people in rehab and getting a little to attached. There was a counselor there that knew this and tried his best to keep us at bay. (haha)

Moving forward together 

Shane and I quickly found a friendship in one another and honestly did not spend a day apart since meeting on that day for quite some time. We moved in together in August of 2014. In October of that year we found out we were pregnant. Up to this point there had still been some struggle with drinking. However when I found out I was going to be a mother. That all changed for me. 

A little brief back story on me, I was never raised by my mother or father. My great grandparents got me from my mom who was also an addict and alcoholic. They took me to live with them and raise me when I was in 2nd grade. I am forever grateful for the life they provided me. I lost my mom at the age of 11. She passed out at the wheel and did no survive. My father had left when I was 2 and never attempted to have me live with him. I’ve seen him a few time throughout my life, on my effort. Again, long story short I never felt I had a family of my own. So when I found out I was going to have a child. Life took a drastic turn for me. I finally had something to live for.

Life Began

In 2015 we had our Son Chase. My whole life and world changed. This is when life truly began for me. Having my son gave me a purpose. I went from having no kids, to 3 kids, all in the same year! My Stepson, Billy returned to his Father (Shane), and came to live with us shortly before our son, Chase came along. They share the same birthday btw.. with a 9 year difference. Also, shortly after finding out we would have our son Chase… we learned that Shane had a daughter . My stepdaughter, (Harper) came to live with us shortly after having our son in 2015! Our small family was growing fast. We were building a beautiful life together. 

We purchased our first home together in March of 2017. In 2018, Shane and I got married. We had an absolutely beautiful outdoor wedding at Eagle Point Park in Dubuque. Allot of factors played into the next 4 years after our marriage. Choices were made, on both of our parts that tore our family apart. We were no longer sober. We no longer had a home. Our family had been torn apart, and we were no longer able to care for our children. We were unstable, to say the least.

Rebuilding our Life

If we fast forward past the chaos,  In October of 2022, after separation and despair.. we came back together to attempt to mend all that had been broken. We decided we were going to rebuild our lives together and do whatever it took to make our marriage and family work. We started working on ourselves individually as well as together as a reunited family. (For the most part).. We have our two youngest with us and the older two are living with family.

My stepson lives with his uncle and aunt. I’m not sure they could ever understand how truly grateful we are for them. My stepdaughter returned to live with her mother. As hard as it is not having all of our children with us, I do believe it’s for the best. It took me a long time to come to that realization and let go of the hurt that not having them causes. I had to work hard on accepting that realization. 

Building Our Faith

In June of this year 2023 Shane will have a year of sobriety. This is the first time Shane has worked a program and went through the 12 steps. He went to therapy and worked out some past issues he had faced. We went to marriage counseling and worked on repairing our trust. Shane got a job working with men in Recovery where he teaches them a construction trade. He feels fulfilled in his work, and we have been getting closer and closer to our God. Our faith is growing every single day and we hope to continue building that Faith. 

We hope to spread the message and carry ourselves in the life God intended us to live.

Thank you for Following along on Our Beautiful Lovely Journey! ♥️