Recovery vs Salvation
by Dawn Cahill
SOBRIETY
When I was a practicing alcoholic, I couldn’t bring myself
to admit it. I knew I had a problem, but I didn’t want to stop drinking. I would
tell people that I was “on the road” to alcoholism. I figured I’d become one if
I didn’t stop drinking. Finally, the day came when I saw myself for what I was:
an early middle-stage alcohol addict who wouldn’t live much past age 42 if I
didn’t stop drinking. (I’m now well past that mark.)
While I was drinking, I often went to AA meetings. Once
there, my craving for alcohol only increased because that was all they talked
about. Imagine a food addict being surrounded by conversations about food. So,
on the way home from meetings, I’d stop by the store and pick up a bottle of
wine, finishing it off before bed.
Once I got sober, life changed dramatically. I went from
gloom to color. Beauty burst around me. The sky gleamed clear blue. I cried
when an arsonist set a local school on fire. Life was now so vivid, the craving
for alcohol diminished and gradually died.
SALVATION
When I was a practicing sinner, I couldn’t bring myself to
admit it. I knew I had a problem, but I didn’t want to stop doing my own thing.
Finally, the day came when I saw myself for what I was: a rebel against God who
wouldn’t make it to heaven if I didn’t repent of my sins.
Prior to this, I often went to church. Since I was raised in
church, I had no objections to it. What I objected to was fanaticism. I didn’t
want to be like those churchy people. Yet they said things that baffled me.
They seemed to care what God thought of them. They talked about their love for
God and His for them. But I just didn’t get it. I’d never experienced that for
myself, yet I’d been told all my life that I was as Christian because I’d
prayed the “right” prayer as a child. And I certainly didn’t disbelieve the
message. I simply didn’t care that much.
But once I admitted I was a sinner separated from God, and
repented of my rebellion against him, life changed dramatically. I went from
darkness to light, death to life. A new warmth filled my heart. God’s presence
was all around me. I now cared what God thought of me.
And God had a purpose for those dark days. When I tell
people about how He brought me out of darkness, they seem more likely to listen
when I share my recovery story with them than if I simply throw Bible verses or
the plan of salvation at them.
(This article was originally published on dawnvcahill.com on April 27, 2015)
About Moonstone Secrets – Dawn's latest release:
As the Christmas season sparkles around her, DeeDee McCreary
eagerly anticipates visiting magical Victoria, BC, with her boyfriend, Nick,
and meeting his family. But the trip proves disastrous. First, Nick finds his
bank account cleaned out. Then he disappears. Frantic, she determines to
uncover what happened. When she discovers something far worse than she
anticipated, she questions everything she believes to be true about him.
With the man she
loves in jail for an unspeakable crime, DeeDee knows the truth lies somewhere
in Nick and his ex-wife’s past. But if she pursues their secrets, will she put
herself in danger, too?
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