Happy August! This month, just as all summer is packed with fun and family time. There is absolutely nothing like it either. What’s even better is that my precious family gets the new improved Kimberly that actually knows who she is and wants from life. I’m sure I mentioned earlier that I celebrate two years of this healing journey and with that being said I picked up my two-year codependency chip this month at Celebrate Recovery. Now I will tell you that with codependency and any addiction, it is a day-by-day struggle it does get easier especially when you have set clear and good boundaries and when you have such a wonderful family of believers and supporters like my Celebrate Recovery family. I’m so grateful for this experience and for each and every person I’ve had the opportunity to meet. Of course, none of this would be possible without God and my precious family. See, I prayed two years ago asking the Lord to help me heal and never again feel the way I did which was addicted to a man and his terrible behaviors. Once I began the hard task of going no contact, I became stronger and better every day and was able to dive deep into the much-needed codependency issues. Within that context, codependency can be described as a person or giver that little to no boundaries and feels the need to do all, be all, enabler of all things and usually exhausted from trying to be perfect for everyone, a person who has totally lost themselves absorbing characteristics of those they are giving to. A hot mess in a dumpster fire definitely described this scenario, as I began healing and learning who I was and what I wanted to accomplish I knew that I never wanted to be codependent again. Two years ago, I didn’t know what my favorite color was or what foods were my favorite. I will say when I decorated my apartment it was pretty obvious that I had surrounded myself with blue. Being able to say it was a real treat for me.
It’s crazy how we can lose ourselves. In this healing journey, I realized I had most likely never truly loved or been in love, and I was definitely never truly loved. This was eye-opening. We can’t truly love unless we love ourselves and are true to ourselves. I can say with confidence I love who I am becoming all parts of this hot mess self and pray every day that I’m used to help others see that they can overcome this addiction and thrive. I give all the Glory to God for this celebration of healing and am so grateful for each of you with me in this journey of healing and thriving.