I grew up in Ville St-Pierre. Church was a definite part of our lives, something we did without thinking about it. I didn't know God in a personal way, but I learned in Sunday school, and never forgot, that "God is love".

I met B. and we and our friends had many good times together, drinking and partying. B. and I married, and eventually had four children. Gradually I realized that partying wasn't fun anymore. Drinking had become a serious problem for our family. I stopped but my husband couldn't.

I remember asking God for help at that time. I was still going to church, and one Sunday morning I was sitting there, when suddenly I felt overwhelmed by an extraordinary feeling of hope and joy. God's presence seemed very near and real. I looked around to see if everyone else was experiencing the same thing as me, but they were all just sitting there the same as usual! I feel this was my spiritual awakening.

At the age of thirty-five I started going to Alanon,a twelve-step group for the families and friends of alcoholics. It took a while for me to decide to go, because I was thinking, "Why should I go; it's his problem, not mine!" But I learned in Alanon that alcoholism is a disease that can afflict anyone.

Alanon is a way of living, and through God and the twelve steps and the support of other members I came to believe in God's power to change my thinking, my attitudes and my life. I realized that I needed to change myself, not my husband.

He was fired Christmas Eve day because of his drinking problem. The shock drove him to Alcoholics Anonymous and he never drank again.

Some years passed, but I was still feeling spiritually restless. One Tuesday morning, when I was forty-nine, I went cross-country skiing as usual. I neared a gnarled old tree and stopped to lean against it for awhile to appreciate the solitude, the clear blue sky and the white blanket of new snow. I was overcome with the impulse to throw off my skis and kneel on the snow to thank God for everything, and to worship Him. The next Sunday in church, after having spoken of my experience with my pastor, he invited me to read publicly Romans 10:9, "...If you confess with your mouth,'Jesus is Lord', and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." I felt as though I had finally come home to my Father.

My husband had stopped drinking through his belief in a higher power, but he resisted making a personal commitment. After thirty-five years of sobriety he lay dying from lung cancer. A brain tumour had made him like a little child. A couple of weeks before his death in December 1995 we were watching Billy Graham on TV. I thought he might be asleep and I asked him what he was doing. He answered, "I talk with God".

I thank God for everything that He has used, good and bad, to bring our family close to Him.