“But my friend sat before me, and he made the pointblank declaration that God had done for him what he could not do for himself.”
-Bill W. (Alcoholics Anonymous p. 11)
The alcoholic who carried the message to me saved my life. People had been telling me about my drinking for quite a while, but I wasn’t hearing what they were saying. I thought to myself: that’s nice information, but I’m not drinking that much.
But when my drinking buddy, the man I was spending all of my time with drinking and drugging with, said to me: “You and me need to go to AA,” I was crushed. This guy spent about 23 out of every 24 hours of each day passed out on my loveseat. He had a Newcastle in one hand with that arm draped over the couch. His beer would spill onto my carpet. He thinks I am as bad as he is? Was he crazy?
But that man is who I heard the message from. I knew how bad his drinking was, and I was with him doing the exact same things and living the same sad life. This is one time when comparison did me a whole lot of good. I could see very clearly where alcohol had taken me for the first time. I dropped him off at home and got sober. I have been sober ever since.
Today’s Prayer
God, let me hear the message of recovery from an unexpected place today. Let me really listen to what is being said, and let me apply this message to my life for the good.