In this episode, we are talking with Bart Ross. Bart is the Recovery & Alumni Services Coordinator on the Florida campuses. 

Bart shares about his journey and how he got to where he is now. He shares his story of surrendering to God out of desperation and how everything changed. He also shares about how he works on his relationship and relies on God daily for strength, especially in uncomfortable or anxious situations. 

• [00:41] We are excited to welcome Bart Ross. Bart is the Recovery & Alumni Care Services Coordinator on the Florida campuses.
• [01:56] Bart was born in Queens, New York.  He has a passion and love for helping people.  
• [03:10] His father taught him a good work ethic at his business.  He struggled to fit in with people and discovered alcohol.  
• [04:51] He shares his experience in the 12 Step process and surrendering to God.
• [06:50] He found God and everything changed.  He was willing to believe out of desperation.   
• [08:12] He works on his relationship with God every day.  
• [09:38] He needed a God so big that he couldn’t figure it out and didn’t know all the answers.  
• [10:48] He relies on God to give him the strength to do things outside of his comfort zone instead of running.  He was actually robbing himself of those experiences. 
• [11:59] When we are healthy, we are still struggling.    
• [12:21] He needs to speak to God about the alcoholic before I speak to the alcoholic about God. 
• [13:58] One morning he woke up in desperation and his friend told him where to find a 12 Step meeting. They convinced him to keep coming to the meetings. 
• [16:10] He started his journey very oppositionally.  
• [17:32] God was always in his life.  He just didn’t acknowledge it.
• [18:32] Bart’s sponsor told him to go to meetings until he liked them and now he loves them. 
• [20:20] We can miss the beauty of the forest because of the ugliness of some of the trees.  We often give God a bad rap because of some of the representatives. 
• [22:48] If someone is struggling and they don’t see hope, they probably don’t even know what is wrong with them. 
• [23:08] You can’t fix something if you don’t know what is broken. 
• [24:32] If at some point you say you shouldn’t be doing this anymore, and you’re doing it anyway, it has now become a problem.  It is the loss of will and ability to choose.
• [26:15] Every day he asks God to direct his thinking and plan his day. He doesn’t need the power to keep himself sober because God has got it. 
• [27:57] If Bart had to make the choice each day, he would be nervous.  Based on his track record he would make the wrong choice. 
• [30:18] The greatest gift in the world is to be able to show somebody a path to being recovered. 
• [31:46] If you’re struggling with finding help and finding recovery, you are not alone. You don’t have to have it all figured out. 
• [33:52] He can’t deny that his life changed when he turned it over to the care of a higher power.  He doesn’t know how it happened, but he can’t deny it.  
• [35:01] Recovery and spiritual wholeness and wellness aren’t about your problems all going away.  It is about being able to struggle successfully.  

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