All is Grace.
“ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS or A.A. is the name of a group of men and women who acknowledge that addiction to alcohol is ruining their lives. Their purpose in coming together is to give it up and help others do the same. They realize they can’t pull this off by themselves. They believe they need each other, and they believe they need God. The ones who aren’t so sure about God speak instead of their Higher Power.
When they first start talking at a meeting, they introduce themselves by saying, “I am John. I am an alcoholic,” “I am Mary. I am an alcoholic,” to which the rest of the group answers each time in unison, “Hi, John,” “Hi, Mary.” They are apt to end with the Lord’s Prayer or the Serenity Prayer. Apart from that they have no ritual. They have no hierarchy. They have no dues or budget. They do not advertise or proselytize. Having no buildings of their own, they meet wherever they can.
Nobody lectures them, and they do not lecture each other. They simply tell their own stories with the candor that anonymity makes possible. They tell where they went wrong and how day by day they are trying to go right. They tell where they find the strength and understanding and hope to keep trying. Sometimes one of them will take special responsibility for another—to be available at any hour of day or night if the need arises. There’s not much more to it than that, and it seems to be enough. Healing happens. Miracles are made.
You can’t help thinking that something like this is what the Church is meant to be and maybe once was before it got to be Big Business. Sinners Anonymous. “I can will what is right but I cannot do it,” is the way Saint Paul put it, speaking for all of us. “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do” (Romans 7:19).
“I am me. I am a sinner.”
“Hi, you.”
Hi, every Sadie and Sal. Hi, every Tom, Dick, and Harry. It is the forgiveness of sins, of course. It is what the Church is all about.
No matter what far place alcoholics end up in, either in this country or virtually anywhere else, they know that there will be an A.A. meeting nearby to go to and that at that meeting they will find strangers who are not strangers to help and to heal, to listen to the truth and to tell it. That is what the Body of Christ is all about.
Would it ever occur to Christians in a far place to turn to a church nearby in hope of finding the same? Would they find it? If not, you wonder what is so Big about the Church’s Business.”
- Frederick Buechner, Beyond Words
Hi, I am Anna. A sinner saved by the amazing grace of my Heavenly Father.
I share the above excerpt from Frederick Buechner’s book for a couple reasons: 1. I believe AA does some incredible work. (There are some things that must be set aside to see the GREATER work being done!) 2. Alcoholism is real, very real. Alcohol is very real also, we don’t get alcoholism or alcoholics without alcohol. 3. I want to make clear that today’s post is going to be me pouring out the intentions of where my heart, mind, and soul lands with the subject of alcohol. By no means am I passing judgement, or condemning, or being legalistic. (of which I have been accused of on this subject) My attempt today is to put my reasoning for not participating drinking alcohol and my views on it out into the world. Whether it is received or not, well, that’s not up to me. But I will tell you that I am more than okay to agree to disagree. And I am always up for hearing new points of view!
For today, I will start with the “Why” to my stand and views on alcohol. Maybe some will be a new view point for you… (just fyi this is not easy AT ALL)
- The amount of people I know that have been severely injured or killed by either themselves or someone else driving drunk- car, boat, plane, motorcycle, etc- sickens me. And then pile on the people that I know that have family or friends that also have severely injured or lost loved ones, just crushing. The amount of drivers under the influence in recent accidents that I have heard on the news, that have survived but have taken the lives of 2, 3, 4 people is astounding- I cannot imagine the pain that comes along with this, all I know to do is cry Jesus save them!!!
- Social Media “dares” scare the living daylights out of me. These are more than alcohol but the “least harmful” tend to be the ones that require alcohol.
- I have made it clear that when it comes to children, I don’t mess around. So when I see that a child is given the role of the designated driver for parents and friends… the correct word for the emotion I feel would be rage.
- Alcohol poisoning. This happens way too often, just because there is a lack of knowledge! (I will give resources at the end of this post)
- Genetics play a role in alcoholism. But no one knows who gets the gene until they take their first sip of an alcoholic drink. And then there is the tendency for addiction. Addiction is dependency on substance, object, or activity. Addiction is anything you can’t rid your mind of getting more of. (Jesus is the only thing you should never rid your mind of 😊)
- Destruction of organs and body! (I’ll let the resources explain these)
- Vulnerability. I know this will be a touchy one, but hear me out. Whether it’s peer pressure or just “wanting to have fun” or something deeper, overindulging has become very common. Matter of fact the reasoning for overindulging for most is to go unconscious, to be rid of something for a little bit. This fact scares all the guts out of me!!!! I promised myself I wouldn’t go too far on this point, but be aware this is happening! It’s an easy set up for rape, drinks getting spiked, dare I say kidnapping, abuse…
- Also, in these environments, it is extremely easy for anyone to slip something in a drink. I am not paranoid – my family knows someone who died, quickly after something was slipped into a drink. One sip.
- Impairment: no other drink can impair a driver like alcohol. period.
- Need it for having fun? To get the party started? Dance? There is always at least one person who can do this no matter if they are supplied alcohol or not. Just saying.
The bottom line “why” of why I don’t partake in alcohol is actually, because I’ve worked and fought to hard for my health, the medication and treatment, and the doctors and care that I need, that it’s not worth jeopardizing any of this. But if all this was not my reality, all the above would be my “why” I choose not to drink. However, this is me, and you are you.
The really crazy thing is I am super hesitant to ever share my thoughts on alcohol with anyone because of some close relationships that I have lost and grieved simply because I was under the impression that I was safe.
In all honesty, I am sharing all this today because I can’t NOT share. There is new research being done, and the average age of consistently consuming alcohol is 12. This means children are either getting it and hiding it from adults, or the adults are giving it to them willingly so that they know how to “safely drink” before they leave home. News flash #1: The latter is breaking the law! News flash #2: this does not prove effective at any point in development. It only sends signals of “have at it!” (resources below)
Many of you will strongly disagree with me, awesome, I never want to be 100% correct, because I am a flawed human. Some may agree, awesome, that makes up a small population, but we will stick together. The only times I ever verbalize/confront any of these concerns, are when 1. you ask me 2. a child is involved- I’ll confront-if not possible I’ll call someone (driving, or lack of care) 3. If someone is a danger to themself or someone else- I’ll call 911.
Now you know where I stand and why. What about you? Do you have thoughts?
Life Book of the Week: All is Grace: A Ragamuffin Memoir, by Brennan Manning
Resources:
Drink: The Intimate Relationship between Women and Alcohol, by Ann Dowsett Johnston. I just read this book. It was referenced in another book I was reading (can’t remember which one). It is going to be one that stays on my shelf.
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/alcohol-topics/alcohol-facts-and-statistics
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/moderate-binge-drinking
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/what-standard-drink
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/alcohols-effects-body
