It's 3:30 AM. I should be asleep, but a late-arriving cold has devastated my intentions for rest this evening. Coughing, sneezing, sore throat - all kinds of happiness.
But that's OK. It just means I get to start celebrating early.
Seventeen years ago - December 12, 1990 - I walked into the Wednesday Night Men's group of Alcoholics Anonymous in Toledo, Ohio. My life was about as broken as it could be - and I started a new life that night, even though I wouldn't recognize it for quite a while afterwards.
Today, there are still parts of my life that remain broken - my finances aren't what they could be, my health could stand some considerable improvement, and I still cling to a job I'm not excited about while I look for "the next right job." It ain't all peaches and cream, by any standards, folks.
But life today - challenges, snuffles, sneezes, wheezes and all - is vastly better than anything I could have imagined in December of 1990. For that I have to thank a God of infinite love and patience, the worldwide AA fellowship, and a series of sponsors and friends who have kept nipping at my heels to keep me on the right path.
Today is especially gratifying because I learned yesterday that a fellow blogger went to their first AA meeting a few brief days ago. I had the chance to share some of my early recollections with them, and hopefully encourage them to "keep on keepin' on," as so many others have done for me.
I have a weird image that I share with folks about the gift of service in AA. For me, I see my sobriety a lot like chocolate milk. You see, if I just get some chocolate milk, and leave it in my refrigerator, it eventually goes sour - just like my own sobriety will, left to my own devices. But if I take the chocolate milk out of the fridge, pour it out and share it with others, it stays sweet and fresh. And by some AA miracle, the more than I pour out and share, the more I find left in the fridge. I get so much more than I give away, time and time again.
So thank you, God, for the gift of this year of sobriety - with all its challenges and joys. Now if you could just clear up my nose long enough for me to go to sleep, that would be really cool...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
Amen on all counts, Steve man.
Congratulations, Steve. What a beautiful achievement.
Blessings on your anniversary, and prayers for your ongoing journey. Thank you for sharing it.
Congratulations on another year of days!
Congratulations Steve. Giving you a hug across the miles.
Congrats, Steve. From another of "the fellowship"!
Steve, I think of all the poor decisions I come to in a matter of minutes... and in this case, you've been able to make good decisions for nearly one million minutes. That's pretty cool... congratulations.
What an awesome testimony. Thanks for sharing--"challenges, snuffles, sneezes, wheezes and all." And congratulations.
dude!! how did i miss this???
talk about not being around, sheeeesh.
well my brother, i have celebrated my first month of sobriety (jan 3rd) and officially got my chips and hugs all done, sadly. i milked the hugging thing for all it was worth, as you probably already imagined.
i have so many thoughts on these amazing people i sit with for an hour a day. really incredible, this experience. i am unsure why it took me so long to get here, but am i ever glad i am.
(get with me to tell me how *things* are :)
love you, happy belated anniversary!
Post a Comment