In the second of a two-part series, a friend of mine examines how he became sober through Alcoholics Anonymous, and the hope he’s found for his life.
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Fresh out of alcohol from the night before, and having flushed my pills for what I hoped was the final time, I was at a crossroads. Do I take the same route home tonight as I have every night for seven years, or do I take a short detour to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting?
I’d been toying around with the idea of a meeting for a week or so at that point. I was scared of the filthy, smoke-filled rooms you see on television. I was scared of some weird cult activity that I was sure was going on inside those meeting places. I was scared that, deep down, I didn’t fit the description of the alcoholic and they would kick me out. I wanted someone to go with me and hold my hand. I was scared that I would have to admit aloud what I was ashamed of and had kept buried deep inside. You know the famous lines they say in meetings: “Hello, my name is ______ and I am an alcoholic.” To which the group replies, “Hello, _____!”
Went I did. That day a section of the Big Book was read aloud. “We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon.” That was it. I knew I was in the right place at the right time.
My first AA meeting was a small group that day; they were friendly enough. They gave me five suggestions at first, which I will never forget.
1. Put the plug in the jug. Don’t drink. Just say no. (We have Nancy Reagan to thank for that line.)
2. Attend ninety meetings in ninety days. The fellowship of the group will keep you sober if you just keep coming back.
3. Pray morning and evening. Even if you don’t feel like it, or don’t know how—just do it. Pray in the morning that you would stay sober throughout the day and pray in the evening with a thankful heart that you remained sober that day.
4. Get a Big Book and read it. The Big Book is a blue-colored volume and the first 164 pages are central to the AA way of life.
5. Find a sponsor. This is someone with some sobriety under their belt who will help you work the steps.
Hope didn’t end there. Hope continues to reveal itself to me every single day, one day at a time. I have hope that my feelings of uselessness and depression and despair will one day subside. I have hope that I’ll continue to shed my old self. Each day brings a new hope of happiness and freedom. I have hope that old relationships will be restored.
“And your life will be brighter than the noonday;
its darkness will be like the morning.
And you will feel secure because there is hope;
You will look around and take your rest in security.”
Job 11:17, 18 (English Standard Version)
