One of my most significant relationships at Breakthrough Urban Ministries is with my friend Roxanna. Roxanna is a guest at Breakthrough and I'm not quite sure how we met but we've shared quite a few meals together since.

Roxanna keeps me on my toes with her wit but fills my heart with joy every time she opens up her arms to ask for a hug! I've learned so much from my friend already and I am definitely excited for our relationship to grow!

I've really enjoyed getting to know Roxanna, too, because she's honest and I can be honest with her. We share in moments of anger, frustration, sadness, and, my favorite of course, joy. One of the greatest joyous occasions I was able to share with Roxanna was in celebrating her first year of sobriety on December 3. I baked Roxanna her favorite cake, yellow cake with chocolate frosting and strawberries on top, to mark the celebration. I am so excited for my friend and am even more thrilled that I get to share this special moment with her.

On Thanksgiving Day I ran into Roxanna on the train as I was headed to dinner out in Evanston (just north of Chicago). We sat and talked as she accompanied me most of the way to my destination. This was actually the point when she revealed to me that her sober anniversary date was coming up. Roxanna told me a little bit about her life before sobriety with passion in her eyes as well as gratefulness and strength in her voice. It was hard for me to picture my friend any other way.

On December 3 I walked into Breakthrough and the first person I saw was Roxanna with a HUGE smile on her face. It was one of those contagious smiles that was radiating with a sense of accomplishment. I presented Roxanna with her cake and she didn't hesitate to, not only cut into it, but share it with me and the other ladies at Breakthrough (there weren't any leftovers...you know women and their chocolate!).

As anyone who as ever suffered from an addiction knows, the battle never really ends and each day free from the addiction is an incredible success. Roxanna has 365 of those days under her belt and I couldn't be more proud of my friend!