Recovery Rosary® Story

I have been a member of Alcoholics Anonymous® for many years.  I came to AA at the age of 18.  My friends say I was a baby.  In the years that have followed, I have experienced everything from the pain related to the personal look one must take to lay that important foundation, to the peace and serenity that is promised in the Big Book® of Alcoholics Anonymous®.  I have learned how to be a friend and in return I get to have friendships that will last a lifetime.  I am truly fortunate.  Sobriety hasn't always been easy, but today it is much easier than living the life I once lived that was filled with dishonestly, personal deprecation and spiritual emptiness.

I consider myself to be a creative person.  I have always felt that is where my talents lie.  I am one of those people who feel if I don't do something creative everyday, I just don't feel complete.  I didn't choose the arts as my career path because I was fearful of my inability to support myself after college. I have had many interesting careers over the years and all have played a role in my life.  I have to say though, that I have always wanted to earn a living and use my creative skills for good.

This journey started with my home group.  I started making cards for peoples sobriety birthdays and donating them to our group.  Then it lead to having card parties with my AA friends and donating them to our group.  It was a way of being of service to my group. I felt passionate about seeing others receive this beautiful piece of artwork.  I loved how they looked at it and saw the significance of what it meant to them.  It was special knowing that someone from our group made it with love. It had meaning to me and was very therapeautic.  It was a way of giving back what I had been so freely given.

One day I was watching Oprah.  She had a show about putting what you want, out to the universe.  So I said to my higher power,  "I want my creative skills to earn me a living  and to be used for good."  Then I let it go, not really thinking about what I had just prayed for.  Then, I was again watching television, but this time, about a show with nuns praying the rosary.  I am not Catholic but I watched their faces totally immersed in prayer.  It made an impact in my mind.  For the next several months, I continued to have thoughts of the rosary.  Why -- I didn't know, but soon would.

I was sitting in a meeting with my  friend Margery (who recently passed away) and we were talking about the Catholic church and then the rosary.  I looked at her and said that I was thinking about developing a "recovery rosary".  At that time I really didn't gather the significance of what I had just said.  I went home and was irritable and bored for some reason.  That inner voice said, "Why don't you draw up that rosary?"  So, I sat down and drew it up.  Wow!  It all fell into place and I saw the significance of this in my life and in others. I immediately made one and prayed with it. It worked and was amazing. I gave a few friends a rosary to try and they loved it. 

I feel very lucky to get to use my creative skills and talents for good by creating a guide to prayer for people in recovery.  For those who are just immerging into their journey of recovery, they can have a tool for prayer, to help them out of the spiritless chasm that addiction causes. 

My futuristic vision for Recovery Rosary® is to financially help organizations devoted to helping women and men who are recovering from alcohol and drug addiction.  I am excited to say that in the 4 years I have been doing this I have been able to help Wayside House.  An organization whom gave me a start in my business and is devoted to a cause dear to my heart....helping women recover from drug and alcohol addiction.

I want to thank my higher power for making this dream come true and my AA friends who have been very supportive in my new endeavor.

Happy Praying!

Kristin O.

Use your own credit card in Paypal.