You find out who Your friends are...

What a song by Tracy Lawrence.  On Nov. 9, 2010, I find out how much my family loves me.  Wasn't too happy to start with.  Listen....

My sister takes me home from the hospital.  I decide not to stay overnight with my wife.  Traffic is crazy and it takes going the backway home to even get there.  I remember on the way home, telling my sister that if anything was to happen to me and my wife, that I wanted her to take care of our little dog.  Little did I know that about an hour later she would be leaving my house with me dog.  I was going to detox.
When my sister got to my house we talked a little and I sent her on the way, with a full bottle of vodka and all of our Nyquil..  Getting rid of everything that had alcohol in it.  Well, almost.

After my sister left, I started to get ready for bed.  I remember standing in the hall and looking outside.  All of a sudden 6 vehicles pull in my driveway.  It is dark and I can't tell who is coming to my house.  If you watch the video, the cars are going in line to help Tracy.   Anyway, I open the front door and hollar out, "Who is here".  I don't think I got much of an answer, I just saw, my daughter, my brother with his wife, both of my sisters and my brother-in-law come into my house single file.
Remember my daughter talking about doing it the hard way, well, intervention is not easy.  Those 6 people started in on me.  They were talking about getting me some help with my alcohol consumption.  One of their first questions was whether or not I gave my sister all of the alcohol.  Well there was that bottle that was about 3/4's empty.  I told them that I didn't want my sister to get stopped with an open container.  I thought that was a good answer.  You know, it didn't impress them at all or stop them from insisting that I go to detox.  Never been to detox and what did I need detox for, I hadn't had a drink in 2 days.  Go figure.
These are people that I love and I know that they love me.  I tried but didn't put up much of a fight.  If you have an intervention with people that really care, just pack your bags.  I remember my brother driving me away and I ask where I was going.  Shoal Creek.  Oh boy.. 
Next, I head to Detox.  Great place, oh yea..

I saw God today...

It's Tuesday, Nov. 9 and my sister takes me to see my wife at St. David's Hospital.  I know the following song shows talks about a baby, but in many ways I became a babe in Christ that day.  Listen to the song, while you read my post. 

Well, all I really remember is being in my wife's room at the hospital with my daughter.  I remember just chatting for awhile and then Dr. Rice comes in.  He's the doctor dealing with my wife's liver problems.  He goes on to say that she has alcoholic hepatitis which was caused by alcohol.  That was the reason that she had turned yellow.  Her liver was swollen and she was sick.  Dr. Rice looked straight at her and said that the next drink of alcohol could kill her.  She told him straight up that she was through drinking.  Now comes the God part.  This doctor then turns to me and says that in situations like this the spouse has an alcohol problem too.  I have never seen this man before and he called me out.  I told him that I was through drinking too.  I knew that right then and there God got my attention.  God showed himself to me through a doctor, a complete stranger.  He happened to come in while I was in her room.  It was then and there that I realized how unmanageable my life had become, but God was ready to help.  What a blessing.
My journey to sobriety starts that evening.  My daughter had already asked me to get help in counseling and I said no that I could handle it.  She told me I could either do it the easy way or the hard way.
Of course an alcoholic will pick the hard way.  THE INTERVENTION is next. 

Don't Want to Waste My Life

Wow, while searching you tube for music to describe my next post, I ran headlong into the video featured here.  Mike liking rap, never thought this old South Austin boy could come to that.  Play the video while I finish this post.

Mighty powerful song.  I was thinking about Jared a lot today and thinking what a waste. Too many people have trouble with that Higher Power thing.  Find your Higher Power as you understand him/her.  Just grab on and hold on. Three young men that I either met in rehab or just out of rehab have died in the last 30 days.  Don't let it happen to you or one of your loved ones. 
I believe that God gave this video to me to share with you.  Please get help and don't waste your life.  If you know someone in trouble, please get them help.  Click on the links in the header.

We took my wife to the doctor today and she is doing great.  God is giving us another chance and I promise that we won't waste it.
Tomorrow, I talk about the time right before my intervention.