Giving It Away

As I’ve written about how God released me from the grip of alcoholism and despair over the past year, I’ve felt many of the emotions from early recovery, and remembered much of what I was told. So as I think about the need to share my experience, strength, and hope with others, I can’t help to think about the ancient practice of retelling our stories. We can trace that practice back to the Old Testament, when God instructed His people to build memorials so when the next generation would ask, “What is that?” they could recount the miracles. 

One such story involved the Israelites as they crossed over the Jordan River into the Promised Land. God commanded Joshua to have a man from each tribe carry a stone from the riverbed where the priests stood holding the ark, and pile them on the other side as a memorial. Listen to how Joshua explained it to the people: “Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: ‘When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, “What are these stones?” then you shall let your children know, saying, “Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land”; for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.’” Joshua 4:21–24.

It’s interesting to me that Joshua piled 12 more stones at the bottom of the river! And although they might not have been visible during flood season, I imagine those stones appeared every time the river ran low as a permanent reminder to those who saw them of the miracle God had performed!

Throughout the Bible, we’re encouraged to share what God has done for us—David’s psalms, and other verses, like Isaiah 12:4 (NIV) say, “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name; make known among the nations what He has done, and proclaim that His name is exalted.”

From the beginning, my friends told me that a crucial part of my recovery would be to share what God had done for me with any alcoholic looking for help. But what I didn’t realize was that working these principles into my life would expel the obsession for alcohol and give me a spiritual awakening. It happened to me, and for the first time in my life, I was truly free! I could go anywhere—even if booze was present—without any fear of drinking. But it all depended upon continued spiritual growth, and I had to share the good news with others.

While I don’t go around talking incessantly about my recovery from alcoholism, I’m always looking for someone I can help—and God sets me up so often! I never know when He is going to introduce me to someone looking for help, so I’ve shared my recovery in some of the strangest places!

Sometimes a fellow church member will approach me and say, “Can I talk to you in private?” and when the door is closed, they tell me that they used to have a terrible alcohol problem, but that the Lord delivered them from all that. Then they tell me that their son or daughter has a problem, and that they don’t know how to help them.

Of course, I encourage them to pray and watch for an opportunity when their loved one is ready and eager for help. At that point, they should feel free to give them my number if they’d like to talk to someone who has had the same problem and found a way out. 

While they’re always grateful for the help, quite often they will end with, “But please, don’t tell anyone about this. I don’t want anybody to know about that part of my life.” They walk away hoping that no one saw them… and my heart hurts for them. How sad it is to me that after the miracle the Lord performed in their life, they don’t want anyone else to know about it! 

Perhaps they’re worried about what other people might think because they still feel ashamed of what they did. Maybe they’ve never accepted God’s forgiveness for their past, and keep dragging all that stuff around with them, instead. It’s possible that they’ve missed the point that God accepts us unconditionally and has promised to finish what He has begun. 

Today, I know that what God thinks of me is far more important than what others think. My passion for helping alcoholics is born out of an immense gratitude for the God who loved me enough to pull me from the scrapheap and set me on my feet. He has performed the impossible, and since I trust Him with my alcoholism, I have no doubt I will stay sober, one day at a time.

Some years ago, I heard a young man say, “You can’t keep it unless you’re willing to give it away…” and that thought exploded in my head! I’ve heard it said that a lake that has water flowing in and flowing out stays clear and healthy, while a lake that has no outlet fills up with leaves and sediment, growing dark, muddy, and eventually becoming a marsh or a swamp. 

As long as I stay grateful to the God who loved me when I wanted to die, I am eager to help others. I’ve learned that by helping them, I stay sober myself—even through difficult times. I’ve realized that I’m uniquely qualified to help another alcoholic, because I’ve been there. I’ve recognized that I can easily secure their confidence, because I have understanding and experience with recovery.

My life has taken on new meaning, and there’s no greater high than to watch them recover, see them help others, watch loneliness vanish, and have a host of friends. I cannot remember the last time I felt even a twinge of loneliness, myself. Frequent contact with  newcomers and with others in recovery is the bright spot of my life; and I often feel that the Lord is smiling on me, saying, “Son, I’m proud of you. Stay close to Me and I’ll give you a life beyond your wildest dreams.”