you are NOT alone--God can fix anything!

 
 God can fix anything. Have you ever witnessed a skilled craftsman going into an old broken down home and restoring it into something fabulous? God is the master of restoration, taking the broken and damaged and making them beautiful. Are there some things in your life that could use a little work?

There are times in our lives when the pain gets to be too much and we just want to sign off, if nothing else, to relieve the pain. Isn't it true? Look at ads on TV, in magazines and on radio: pain is so prominently displayed. Have a headache? Take a pill. Dealing with stress? Take a pill. Chronic fatigue? Take a pill. It seems as if a pill is the magic be-all, end-all solution to life's woes.

I had a doctor who told me when I was in deep depression over life, it's issues and my own personal hell that I was dealing with once upon a time, that he would not prescribe anything for me, as I did not need to live out my life from the bottom of  a bottle. Well, I was upset at that. "Come on, you're a DOCTOR and I am in PAIN!" But, he knew me better than I knew myself, so I became determined! "That so-and-so, I'll show HIM! Hmph! I'll just figure this out MYSELF!" And by myself I did...I figured it out...it took prayer, plus willful determination that I was indeed, woman, so look out!

I look back on those days and look to where I am now. My life situation is much better in some ways, though I still have an elephant in the room that I deal with. That elephant, named alcoholism, scares me in that I cannot control it. I am not the alcoholic, I am the witness TO it. I am the bystander. It is painful to watch another do that to themselves and believe me, he is not the first one I have witnessed doing this. It is sad and heartbreaking to watch someone so wonderful, so fabulous, so intelligent---tip that bottle and become a besotted wreck.

So...what is the solution? Do we just walk away?
Would you?

Each case is as individual as a snowflake. If the situation becomes violent, by all means, do NOT stay! If there are children who are being harmed by the actions of the alcoholic, make those changes NOW! For those who feel that to stay and deal with the hand that life has given, I applaud you. But realize, you cannot change the person who drinks. You can only change yourself. Make your thoughts and attitudes beautiful. Don't feel like a victim. The situation is so complex and one that I would not wish upon anyone. There are many nights that I cry myself to sleep. There are many days that I pray to God, "show me the way!" There are many thoughts that run through my head, the main one being, "am I better off with or without this person?" Then there are the many ideas that fly through my mind. I cannot change him/her. But I can change myself as well as my attitudes about it.

 Alcoholism punishes everyone who knows the drinker, but the drinker does NOT drink to punish those around him or her. Does that make sense? They do not drink to get back at another. It is a war they face within themselves and we are all just brought in...perhaps sucked in, is a better word. An alcoholic drinks for many reasons, none of which is to alienate themselves from those they love. It is compulsory, and like the infamous ad for the potato chip, they can't just stop at one drink. Oh, they may WANT to...they may TRY to...but in the end, the bottle or can wins...and once again they are mired in morose misery as they come to realize that once more, they have "failed."

For them to restore themselves takes extreme willpower. Whether it be AA meetings or just assuming an attitude that today is the last day of drinking and sticking with that, it is a daily process of telling oneself, "I am so DONE with you, Lady Alcohol! DONE!" and meaning it!

Some can...and sadly, some fall victim yet again to her influences.

Just as with buying a house that is a real fixer upper, in which making repairs is a daily dance of doing this and that, then taking a step back, assessing what has been done and what still needs doing, so it is with alcoholism. It is a daily assessment of, "how can I deal with this and what can I do to continue to deal with it on a positive basis?" true for both the drinker as well as those who are on the sidelines watching it play out. Rely on a Higher Power, by whatever name you call it. Rely on healthy friends, rely on anything positive that can get you through that bump that in reality, can also be a pothole of misery.

You are not alone, be you the drinker or the one who knows one. Reach out....reach out, I say....take the hand of someone or something that can help you up and out of the pain that you feel. No pill required!