Accountability. If you don’t have immediate accountability as a recovering addict, it would be so easy to listen to satan’s sweet little seducing whispers, “No one is looking, no one will know. Just have one. Go relax. Just drink one beer. You deserve it.” Accountability is someone you can trust. Accountability is someone that will call you out on your bull crap. Accountability is someone you are one hundred percent vulnerable and transparent to. I was blessed into this amazing group of women that I will always know as my SOAP sisters. SOAP stands for scripture, observation, application, prayer. It’s a daily devotion and we text each other our devotions each night. We pick a book in the bible and read one chapter a day. When I joined this group, I only knew two of the women. Now, all of these women know my heart better than I do. Why? Because I have opened up my prayer life to them. My most sacred, deepest hurts and worries and fears, all spewed out in my devotions not only to God, but also sent to these women to read each and every day. Jenae, Cat, Connie, Kirstie, Sarah, Cheryl, Ola, and Jamie. We are like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, only way cooler. This random group of women that I have come to cherish, and love, have been my earthly rock. Throughout the day whenever I need prayer, I text the group and instantly, eight other women of strong Faith are praying with me. Co-parenting is hard enough without a wicked step-mom. My son’s step-mom’s name is Jezebel. Whenever I had to see Jezebel’s face, I text the group instead of punching her in her ugly mouth. Don’t get me wrong, I was a stepparent for five years, and I have the utmost highest respect for stepparents. However, this female did not have Aiden’s best interest anywhere in her thought process. She was evil. When I started the court process, my SOAP sisters encouraged and guided me along. They encouraged me to always be the bigger person and to always simply just pray for ol’ Jez. This group of women would let me vent, but they would always give me wise Godly counsel. We have been through everything together; divorces, weddings, childbirth, tragic deaths, financial struggles, alcoholism, etc. The list is endless. I cannot reiterate enough how valuable and vital these women are in my life. Daily accountability. One day, out of the blue during a visit from Aunt Flow, I thought I could handle taking Diurex just to ease the discomfort of bloating. I bought the bottle, and conviction set it. Before I took the first pill, I texted my SOAP sisters. Instantly my phone blew up like the 4th of July. DUMP IT OUT! FLUSH IT! DO NOT TAKE THAT! They all were ready to drive to wherever I was and dump it out for me. They made me video myself flushing it down the toilet. And I did. I flushed it. I had their wise counsel stop me from making a negative life altering choice. That one little pill was satan’s sweet little seduction. “just use as prescribed,” he whispered. “It will make you feel better.” He knew I’d be hooked. He knew it would set me into a relapse. These amazing women didn’t skip a beat, they called me out and saved my sobriety. Key factor in this, I was transparent, and I reached out. It’s an action that you have to physically do. I made the right choice and I was honest. I told them something I knew they would disapprove of, because I knew it was the right thing to do. I knew taking that pill was the wrong thing to do. But after buying it, I couldn’t stop on my own. I needed help. I reached out. I was open and honest. Honesty and transparency keep me sober. To this day, no matter what the other person might think, honesty and transparency are vital. You must have these people in your life. Find someone you can trust and open up to them. You’ll get out of the relationship what you put into the relationship.