Freedom through Sobriety
Good morning Ladies and thank you for allowing me to chair this week’s meeting. The past week or so I have been thinking about the freedom I have today through my journey in sobriety. April 1st I ended up in the ER and was than sent by ambulance to another hospital about an hour north of where I live. I had an e-coli infection in my bladder and urninary tract, kidney stones, was septic and was miserable. I spent 5 days in the hospital and am still on the mend but doing well. The Dr’s. told me if I had waited another day to go into ER I would still be in the hospital as I would have gone into septic shock.
Laying in the hospital gave me alot of time to think about how grateful I am today for the freedom that this program has given me being sober. Had I not been sober I truly could be dead today because the alcohol would have covered up how I felt and knowing how I was when I was drinking I would never have gone to the ER for anyone. When I was sick I covered it with alcohol.
Alcohol took away my freedom to make good choices and decisions. I did not take good care of myself healthwise. The total freedom to be rigorously honest about what is going on with me and to know how to use it without hurting people. The freedom of my feelings and to be able to feel them and not be ashamed of how I feel about something.
Just this past Thurs. a friend of mine here in town committed suicide. I just cried and cried as I was so sad and did not understand it because he just was not the type of guy that I ever felt would do something like this. He had a very good business but got hooked up with the wrong friends. I think to myself if it were not for this program of AA how I would have been up the street to the bar Thurs night drinking.
God has given me the freedom through this program today that I know that no matter what happens in my life today I do not have to take a drink.