I am making order out of chaos

How do I put the pieces of my life back together? What do I do with those misshapen parts of myself, the parts that are old, frayed and tattered?

Recovery is the art of making order out of chaos. A person making beautiful patchwork quilts looks at many different shapes of material and puts them together to form a work of art. A quilter will not use every piece, nor will a quilter throw odd shapes away as unfit. An artist will examine each piece to determine whether it will enhance the overall beauty of the final design.

As an alcoholic, I become impatient with my own healing process. I want to get rid of all the nasty parts of myself...NOW. Any imperfect piece I want to dispose of immediately.

Let me take a lesson from the quiltmaker. I will examine all parts of myself before I make decisions to "keep" or "throw out". Who I am is all I have to work with. There is no need to rip myself apart and start over.

With love and patience, I am learning to make order out of my personal chaos. A work of art is in the making.