I was thirty five years old when I attended my first meeting in AA. The night before I had gotten into a horrible fight with a man who was three times my size. Needless to say, I got pounded to bits by this monster. It was that experience that caused me to awaken to the problem I was having with drinking alcohol.
My mom had attended Alcoholics Anonymous for thirty years prior to passing away. When I entered the first meeting a man helped me by suggesting that I ask God for help. I did and that day I was able to find relief from the obsession and desire to get a drink. It was really noticeable the next morning when I awoke, I had no desire to go to the store and get a beer. The touch from God was so real that I told Him I didn’t want to become a religious fanatic.
I have since been sober for over eleven years and maintained a very close and strong relationship with God. In the beginning I really was aware that the promises of the Alcoholics Anonymous program were coming true. The best one that was really working was God was doing for me what I could not do for myself, helping me stay sober.
As I continued to attend AA meetings, sometimes four in one day, I got stronger and stronger, one day at a time.
Some of the things I learned that were extremely helpful were:
* Staying away from a drink was the most important thing in my life
* God would help me if I would follow the twelve steps
* I needed to learn how to live life on life’s terms
* It was OK to not be apart of family functions if there was alcohol present
* I learned how to stay in the present and out of the past and the future. It’s called living “one day at a time.”
In the Alcoholics Anonymous program a sponsor is someone that you find who can help you stay sober. Their responsibilities include helping you to work the twelve steps. Also they work with you to help you work through staying sober. The challenge for me was finding someone who believed in Jesus, lived by biblical principles and who knew how to work the Alcoholics Anonymous program. After two years in the program, I finally connected with the perfect sponsor. Those long timers must get tired of dealing with alcohol addicted people, but they really understand they must help them in order to stay sober themselves.
If you or someone that you know is struggling with drinking alcohol, I suggest that you or them try AA for no less than ten meetings. Make a decision to stay away from drinking and quit one day at a time. It is possible to succeed because God really will help you if you are willing to let him. Just yield to the wisdom of the program and let the people who have been sober for a while help you. It’s possible to get sober and continue to not drink alcohol.
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