Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: PAIN (04/21/22)
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TITLE: Misery Into a Miracle | Previous Challenge Entry
By Art Fahy
04/27/22 -
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He must have seen the questionable look on my face. Smiling he said, “You’re in the right place.” He stepped inside. I took a deep breath and followed. Inside the room were six long folding tables three on each side of the room. Four or five chairs were placed at each table. Each table held two carafes of coffee, mugs, spoons, and a couple of ashtrays. Heads turned as I entered the room. It was an Alcoholics Anonymous men’s stag meeting that started at 12:15PM.
Men ranging in age from thirty to mid-fifties filled the room. Some wore suits and ties and others were in jeans and flannel shirts. A cloud of cigarette smoke hung in the air. A man in his thirties stood and extended his hand. “Hi, my name is Hank.” We shook hands and through a dry mouth I told him my name was Paul. The man across from me introduced himself as Gary and poured me a cup of coffee. Someone tapped a glass of water with a spoon and said, “Time to start the meeting.”
Three days before that meeting, I was sitting on the edge of my bed wondering what went wrong. The night before I stopped just for a couple of beers before going home. I was at the bar for over three hours and got into a fender bender in the parking lot. I started drinking and I could not stop. I recall saying to myself just one more. It was one more after that and then another. The lies, humiliation and broken promises had to stop.
After the meeting, Gary and Hank took my phone number and they gave me theirs. Work went smoothly that night. I felt different something stirred inside of me. It wasn’t the usual anxiety but a calmness that flowed through me.
I woke the next day feeling restless. What happened to the calmness I enjoyed last night? An empty feeling took over. Nothing seemed to fill that emptiness. As much as I hated to admit the fact, even alcohol didn’t do it any more. Fear occupied my thoughts. I wanted to run. Not sure where just run. I ran to the meeting and sat across from Gary. Shaking I poured myself a cup of coffee.
“Good you came back.” He said.
After thirty days in the program of Alcohol Anonymous, I admitted, I was an alcoholic. I conceded staying sober alone was impossible. There were many attempts to do that but all to no avail. That concession came from deep within me. As time progressed, incidents of isolation became less. I started to associate with people. I was back in society being part of life.
The pain of alcoholism drills deep into a person’s soul. It strips a human of everything he has. I lacked self-control when it came to drinking. I was a perfect description of Proverbs 25:28 ESV “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” I was defenseless against alcohol. I was walking in the flesh. It was a slow death.
Drinking like I did chipped away at my soul. Liquor kept me from a relationship with God. Every step I took was leading me into a dark and deadly abyss. Alcoholics Anonymous opened the door for me to have an intimate relationship with God.
Initially, I considered my alcoholism a curse. Today, I accept my alcoholism and look at it as a blessing. I no longer feel lonely or isolate myself. What I am most grateful for is the relationship I have with Jesus. It is because of Him I am no longer a slave to alcohol or any other sin. As the pain of alcoholism bore deep into my soul, I want my love for God to grow deeper into my soul. As Jesus said in Luke 18:27 NIV “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” God turned misery into a miracle.
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