DRINKING: A LOVE STORY
Today’s Message of Encouragement from Discovering A BETTER LIFE MINISTRIES
(Stories of Real People, Real Events, Real Places)
They are Dedicated to providing Spiritual FOOD FOR THOUGHT
To HELP Men and Women Find HOPE
THROUGH SHARING GOD’S GRACE and LOVE!
(Ron Bainbridge, Editor)
(January 27th, 2020)
DRINKING: A LOVE STORY
“O Lord, who uses broken things!
Who through broken clouds gives us sweet, sweet rain!
Who gives us bread from broken grain!
O Lord, make me stronger through broken things!”
Friends, every year hundreds of thousands of Australians are plagued with alcoholism! Thousands of them are women. Many of them, like Caroline Knapp, started in their early teens and began to use alcohol as "liquid armour," a way to protect themselves against the difficult realities of life.
Caroline Knapp always kept her job. She never ended up in the gutter. Yet her closely guarded secret nearly destroyed her life and the lives of others.
You see, for many years, Caroline maintained her life as a high-functioning alcoholic. She made it to the office every day. She became a popular newspaper columnist.
But her inner world was an utter disaster. She often drove home drunk. Caroline says with deep regret: “I was becoming dangerous to myself and others.” In her popular autobiographical book, Drinking: A Love Story, her former lifestyle parallels a frightening trend in Australia: female alcoholism.
Experts say when women abuse alcohol, their abuse is more likely than men’s to go unnoticed by friends and family. They tend to turn inward, masking their abuse of alcohol. That was Caroline’s story. Thankfully she finally faced the ugly truth about her reckless, hopeless lifestyle. She’s now in recovery and warning other women to come clean and seek the help they desperately need.
Caroline’s story mirrors that of many women who have come to the realization of their need to seek help in order to recover from their alcohol addiction. Perhaps, even as you are reading this message today, you might be saying to yourself, “I am a woman who wants to overcome my addiction to alcohol,” or “I know a friend of mine who needs help.”
Friend, no one can defeat alcohol addiction alone. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS acknowledge this, as do many other people in the business of helping alcoholics: doctors, psychologists, social workers, etc. this is true, because a person who is addicted to alcohol, trapped by it, needs help in breaking out of this trap. Where can an alcoholic get the best help possible?
I genuinely believe that the real need of an alcoholic is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, because He alone can give real answers to the problems facing an alcoholic. He is able and willing to provide strength for the self-control necessary to stay away from that first drink.
Jesus is able to help us solve the problem of guilt by forgiving everything in our past.
He deals with our feelings of inadequacy, of worthlessness, by changing us to a new person with a new identity, when we become children of God, just as the apostle writes in
2 Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old has passed away, behold the new has come.”
Friend, a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ gives us a purpose for life! A reason for living!
Many alcoholics focus on themselves and their problems. But those who strive to follow Jesus find help for the darkest days, even those days when they slip and fall. Jesus has promised that He will always be with us. Even if everyone else gives up on you, Jesus never will. He loves the alcoholic and wants to help anyone caught up with this addiction.
Friend, whether you are an alcoholic or the relative of an alcoholic, I hope you will consider Jesus as an alternative to alcohol.
Alcohol abuse may be the tragic, hidden story of yourself, or some men and women you know. If so, then we would be pleased to send you a helpful booklet written by Randy Becton. It is titled “Help Me! Alcohol Controls My Family.”
Having experienced life with an alcoholic relative, Randy has personal understanding and empathy in regard to the heartache alcoholism generates. This booklet contains some very practical suggestions. Its message is compassionate, treating the alcoholic, or the person who lives with an alcoholic, with understanding and respect.
Friend, if you or someone you love and care for is an alcoholic, then this booklet is for you. It contains numerous resources that you will find helpful.
“Help Me! Alcohol Controls My Family” discusses the following topics:
What is Alcoholism? -- Who is an alcoholic? -- How does a person become an alcoholic?
Can alcoholism be cured? -- What about Alcoholics Anonymous? -- A Person with a problem! -- Trapped! -- The alcoholics real need: Jesus Christ. -- How can I help? --
Where can we turn? -- Understanding another person’s feelings. -- Look at yourself! -- We can’t make it alone. -- God wants good things for us. -- Some practical suggestions.
Discovering A Better Life makes this booklet available to you completely free of charge. To receive your FREE copy of, “Help Me! Alcohol Controls My Family.” Simply write to: Discovering A BETTER LIFE, P.O. Box 1540, Albany, Western Australia 6331
You may Telephone your request on: 98 418 418.
Or E-mail us at: abl-alb@omninet.net.au
“If you really want to be happy, the only person
That can stop you is you. Don’t strive to be happy.
Be happy wake up each morning. Smile.
Look for the good in the day. Choose to act happy.
Find the good in others.
Work toward something larger than yourself.
Do the best you can in any endeavor!”
Friend, if you would like to read more human interest stories, we invite you to visit our Website Blog at:
Friend, there is help and hope available from many sources, for women and men who desire to defeat their Alcohol Addiction!
Even as I write these words, I am thinking of Shanna's Story of Recovery from Alcohol Addiction, which is an Inspiring one! Perhaps you would like to hear it. If so, I have included the following YouTube link that you may hear for yourself “Shanna's Story of Recovery from Alcohol Addiction.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFcAskFTiGM
To hear and View these Videos, Please click on the Links
Sarah Reeves - "Broken Things"
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