My Story!
I started this blog to share my story of how one encounter with a stranger changed my life completely. I am a veteran. I was in the army on active duty for 4 years. I was a medic and I enjoyed every aspect of my work. I was strong, I was lean, I was fast, I was at my physical peak and I believed I could take the world. This euphoria however didn’t last very long when I got injured in the line of duty. After my injury, I was more cautious when I worked.
Well, I was first stationed in Germany then moved to Colorado after two years. The soldiers always said Fort Carson is where good soldiers come to die. And that was so true for me. I ended up in a unit with a very toxic leadership which took a toll on my mental health and on my work. I started to feel sad and depressed and all sorts of emotions I never thought I would feel.
Long story short, I ended my time in Fort Carson unscathed by the leadership. But unfortunately, the damage had already been done. I wasn’t coping well at all and I was using alcohol to numb the pain.
My relationship with my family was spiraling out of control because I continued to drink more and more. My drinking drove a wedge between me and my family. For two years, I struggled with my drinking, I would make some progress but fall back down even deeper. I was drinking, every day despite waking up sick and throwing up, despite being so hungover, I couldn’t stop myself. It was killing me, I was destroying my marriage, my poor mother could not understand what exactly was going on with her “strong baby” and how this monster was destroying her life.
Alcohol brought me to my knees, I tried many treatments but they failed. I had to be honest with myself about drinking. It had taken complete hold of me. I would have long stretches of sobriety but fall flat on my face after, the never-ending cycle continued for a while. Until one day, …
A friend called me, she was so excited, she told me about how she met a couple who were helping her get financially free. I said, oh that’s nice, I am happy for you. She continued to talk about these people like a teenager who had fallen in love for the first time. The excitement in her voice was palpable. She asked me if I wanted to find out about who they are and I said sure. About a decade ago, some people approached us about the same thing. I don’t remember how it went but I know we went to one meeting, and another house meeting but it ended there because none of us had any extra money anywhere.
This time, it was different for me, I needed to do something, I needed to change my life. I was sick and tired of being a burden to my family, I was ready to be an instrument of change and revival. So, I said, sign me up.
A lady who has had almost three decades of success in this venture came to my house, she sat at the table and talked with us for hours. I was excited about learning so I plugged in. Our first event was a major conference of entrepreneurs, which went on for a day and a half.
It was like drinking from a fire hose but in the end, it was a lot of positive information which gave me hope. They said, what is your dream? And I had to think for a minute, I have dreams, a lot of dreams and this disease is trying to steal them from me.
So a few weeks in, as I was having my mentoring session with the lady who came to my house, I told her. Ma’am, I have a problem, it has been causing a lot of difficulty in my family because I have struggled and struggled to kick the habit but I have failed. She listened intently, I said, I have a drinking problem, I’ve been struggling with this for sometime now, I have gone to treatments, I was sober for a bit, but always went back to my old ways. She looked at me lovingly and said, are you a person of faith, I said yes.
Then she told me her story about the life she was leading when she was about my age and about how God had saved her. Here I was thinking that God had abandoned me because I had been calling his name for years without any response. She looked at me straight in the eyes and said, “Leah, you have to take your eyes off yourself and put it on others.” I said what does that mean? She said; it is not about you, it is about what God can do through you. What has happened in your life might have come to you as a surprise but it was no surprise to The Creator and He will use your pain to bring glory to Himself.
August 4, 2019 was the date I had my last binge drinking episode. My mentor sent me a training about faith and belief. I watched it, I listened to it, and I prayed. A miracle had begun to happen in my life. My healing had begun and I have not looked back since, I have no desire to drink, I want to be sharp, I want to help people like me, I want to do the most good to the most people. I want to help people like me who are dealing with hangups, hurts, hang-ups, and habits. There is hope! And that through entrepreneurship and mentorship, they can turn their lives around.
This is my story, I hope you it conveyed to you my deepest desires in writing this blog, there is hope! Follow me and please write to me if this post has touched you or someone you know. Until next time,
Yours truly,
Leah Manya
Leah Manya 