Getting free from an alcohol addiction may just be the most difficult thing that you will ever try to accomplish in life. Staying sober will be the second most challenging thing you will face. These two statements really only apply to you if you are going to try to make this happen on your own. Most people who quit drinking do it with help from a program and many are able to get sober with help from God. Actually, I say that’s the only way to get clean and stay clean.
During this journey to get help you will find that the twelve steps of the Alcoholics Anonymous program are designed to cause people to turn to a higher power for help. This is what I did the first day that I attended an AA meeting. It worked and has been working ever since.
One of my favorite ways of introducing myself in an AA meeting is by stating my first name and then saying “I am free from alcohol, just for today.” This is the honest truth; I am totally free from the chains that used to bind me. The freedom came through attending meetings regularly, reading the AA literature and establishing a relationship with God.
In the first meeting I attended, someone suggested that I ask God for help. I did, he helped me and now I have stayed clean and sober for the past twelve years. The program works if you work it.
It’s going to take work if you want to get free from the binding grip of this horrible addiction. The work must be accomplished one day at a time though. Alcoholics who are trying to stop drinking learn in the AA program how to live in the present and stay away from the past and the future. This is done through learning how to live one moment at a time. By staying present in today you will not be living in the pain of the past and the fear of the future.
The process was one of me attending meetings, reading literature and getting to know God in a very real way. My story says this is the only way of getting free from alcohol and the addiction. Staying sober is just a matter of not picking up a drink.
Three keys to having freedom from drinking alcohol
• Everyday make a conscious decision to stay away from alcohol and the things that used to draw you into drinking.
• Attend support group meetings regularly.
• Read literature that will help you stay focused on being sober.
• Start asking God for help
If you will apply those four things to your life on a daily basis, then you will succeed at not having a drink of alcohol, one day at a time. Here’s another one of my favorite sayings; “if you don’t drink, you won’t get drunk.” Keep it simple.
So, here’s what I want you to do. Getting free from alcohol and staying sober is going to require action on your part. Go to the ph. book and find your local AA hot line. The person who you talk to will be able to direct you to the next AA meeting that is in your area. Go to that meeting and make up your mind to get help from others.
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