I have a friend

I have a friend, not a big deal, most of do. This friend, who will remain nameless because I haven't asked for permission to use their name, has just begun their journey into sobriety. Honestly, so have I. I know people who have YEARS behind them, I have a few months. Anyway, back to my friend. This friend is in the beginning, and seems to be trying to do all by themselves. I know this attitude very well.

There are those of us who take on the world. Not to fight it, to wear it, carry it around with us. We put on a good front with humor, or we attack with anger to keep people away. But ultimately, the result is the same, we try to handle all our problems on our own. I've learned something, I can't. That is exactly what led me down the path of a six pack a night with a chaser of whiskey on the rocks after dinner, then another, and another.

Christians are called to lean on one another in times of need. Yes, there's a song there, but my friends will tell you, I was not blessed with the gift of music.

2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally Brothers and Sisters rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

This is just one of many passages that tell us to love one another, encourage each other, serve each other humbly, lift each other up. The act of loving, encouraging, and serving each other brings us closer to Jesus. But when we cut ourselves off from each other, don't reach out to others in our own need, don't seek help from each other, we aren't serving God. This is not a path that shows strength, or independence, althought that's what the secular world says. "Go out there and stand on your own two feet!" "You can do it!" These are things we are told to do by the adversary. He wants us to try and fail.

Problems like alcohol, drugs, pornography, overeating are all creations of our own desire for control. Recovery requires help from others. Christian recovery gets you some of the biggest help there is, if you but ask for it.

Matthew 7:8 "For everyone who asks, receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

I admit my own guilt in this, I have not always asked, or sought, or knocked. Sometimes when others came to me, I haven't always been there for them. I'd like to change that. I'd like to be there for others the way that Jesus is there for me. I want to always go to Him first.