Author: Dennis W.

The life of recovery from substance abuse isn’t for everyone.

Some try to recover until they feel better physically and then decide that the misery isn’t so bad. They go back for more.

Some try to recover to appease someone else. Eventually that pressure eases and they return to the comfort and misery of substances.

Those of us who are desperate, honest, and willing seem to find long-term recovery.

Recovery isn’t for those who need it as much as it is for those who want it.

God, please help me to want to be sober more than anything else.

God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.

Denial is a great defense mechanism that I can use to justify anything I do.

I can use it to keep others at an arm’s length so that they can’t see the truth about me. I use it to protect my fears.

When I’m suffering, denial keeps me from seeing the truth. Eventually I actually begin to believe my own bullshit.

When I sincerely ask God for His Help, He will show me the truth. He will help me to become honest with myself and others.

Until I seek God’s Help, my insanity continues.

God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.

Being a good friend isn’t always easy.

A good friend tries to understand the things about me that they can’t and just accepts me anyway.

A good friend tries to forgive me when I screw up.

A good friend doesn’t burn bridges.

A good friend knows when I’m off track and tells me what they see.

A good friend doesn’t wait around for a “Thank you”.

A good friend reminds me that I’m not alone.

When I’m at my lowest, a good friend shows up.

Today I will try to be a good friend.

God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.

I appreciate the wisdom of those who came before me.

They learned hard lessons and spared me from having to do the same. They saved me a lot of trouble.

They showed me the right direction so I could make right choices.

There is no express-lane for getting through life. I have had to take my lumps but I’m better off as a result.

My path hasn’t always been smooth but I can’t complain. I’m still on it.

I guess they really knew what they were showing me.

God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.

I did not try to get clean and sober because I thought it was a good idea.

Not because someone begged me to stop using.

Not because a judge threatened me.

Not because an employer or a spouse threatened me.

I could not stand being inside my own skin, could not look at myself in the mirror, and alcohol stopped removing my discomfort. Alcohol just brought more terror. I was desperate.

I had lost my soul and wanted to die. All because I was a slave to a substance which used to make me feel free.

I don’t want to suffer anymore.

It’s personal. That’s why I can’t make someone else want to be clean and sober. 

The desire comes from within me.

God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.

Sometimes we hurt and it’s not easy to be strong. We feel powerless and weak because of the pain.

We can’t always be strong. Sometimes we need someone to be strong for us.

When I need it, I must allow someone to be strong for me.

When I’m needed, I must be strong for someone who is hurting.

It always comes back around. That’s what God does for us.

God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.

Some simple things I should consider in order to make this journey easier…

If I am hurting myself, I should stop;

If I am hurting another, I should stop;

If I am guilty, I should make amends;

If I am remorseful, I should ask to be forgiven;

If I am resentful, I should forgive;

If it doesn’t feel right, I shouldn’t do it;

If it feels right, I should do it.

Life is hard sometimes. If I don’t like it, I should get over it.

God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. it Amen.

Most alcoholics and addicts never recover from their addictions. For most who have tried, it is the hardest course in their lives.

But recovery is not an academic exercise. It demands spiritual and psychic change.

It requires honesty, humility, and daily practice.

It is a self-correcting and self-grading course unlike any other.

It requires the desperate desire to succeed like a drowning person.

Cheating isn’t tolerated because I only would be cheating myself.

The exam is pass-fail. Happiness or suffering. Life or death. But we get to retake the test every day.

I have never wanted to succeed at anything more in my life.

I pray for those who are failing and for those who have failed.

God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.

There are always lessons to be learned, if I pay attention and keep an open mind.

Years ago, I used to meet weekly with a group that included a few old-timers. They never brought their troubles along but instead shared their insight and wisdom after listening to fools like me.

I wondered why they even bothered since it seemed like they had their lives all together.

Helping someone else helped themselves. They were divinely-guided.

Helping someone else helps me.

God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.

When I get impatient, it exposes my self-centeredness.

If my self-centeredness causes me to be harsh with others, I am the problem.

Sometimes I don’t get what I want or when I want it.

Sometimes I expect too much.

Sometimes I just have to wait.

Everything happens on God’s Terms and in God’s Time, not mine.

God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.