Daily Missives

I have had more difficult times in my life after I got sober than before I got sober. I think that’s just the way life goes – it’s not always smooth sailing. I have never traveled this road alone. God has put people into my path to help me get through the tough times and…

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I can be led to change, but I still have to do the work. If I don’t put in the effort to change my old ways, I’m still the same person exercising the same old character defects. I am the one who primarily benefits from the change. Initially it may feel punishing, but it is…

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Feelings are not permanent. Often, the way I feel is directly linked to my perspective. It’s easy to feel happy when good things are happening. It’s not so easy to feel happy when things are not so good. If I believe that there is a gift in everything and that God intends for me to…

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“Well, at least I’m not drinking.” The effect of my alcoholism is not limited to my substance abuse. It affects how I think, feel, and act. So, if I try to pass off bad behavior as acceptable because I’m not using, it points to the unmanageable attributes of my disease and my life. If I…

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Rarely does help appear at my doorstep without my asking for it. It seems that other people can’t read my mind just as I cannot read theirs. I must ask for help. When help does come, it doesn’t always sound or look like I expected. Sometimes I don’t even recognize it. Sometimes helping someone else…

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My anxiety usually comes out before my reality. My fears always come out before my anxiety. Recognizing my fears when I am starting to get anxious allows me to put my fears in their right place – in God’s Hands. God will help me deal with my reality when it comes – one moment at…

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I can’t tell what’s going on with someone’s soul just by appearances. Most of us are pretty good at hiding how we feel, especially when we are in pain. I know that when I am disturbed, I tend to behave a little differently, a little more distracted. So when someone I know appears a little…

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I never planned to stop using and drinking. It just happened through a series of odd coincidences. I was just ready and didn’t even know it. I didn’t have the day circled on the calendar. I didn’t stop because I was inspired by the idea of self-improvement. I had been living with a depth of…

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When I use alcohol I become a drunk. When I use drugs I become an addict. Those are inescapable facts about me. Early in my recovery, complete strangers told me that left to my own devices, I would self-destruct. I thought “They don’t even know me!”.  How wrong I was. They knew me better than…

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No one promised me that life would be easy. It’s the same for everyone. Sometimes it feels like everyone else is the problem and that they don’t understand how difficult they make it for me. They probably feel the same way about me. I can see the cause of my problems just by looking in…

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