Day 3183 – Reflections On 3.5 Years Of Sobriety

In some ways, I feel like I’ve always been sober. I feel so far removed from my drinking days that they almost seem like they happened to someone else. I suppose in some respects, that’s true. I am so different from that person. I always heard “people don’t change” so I didn’t try to change myself or others. Looking back on my own struggles and changes, I realize people do and can change, but sometimes it can take a very, very, very long time. I was arrested in 2006 but I didn’t take God at His Word (to be sober-minded) until 2014. I joke that it took me eight years to quit cold turkey. But the truth is it was all God doing a work in me over many many years. It has helped me to be patient with change; to not rush it. Some things take a long time to marinate.

One change from not drinking is the ability to get up early. I still can’t believe we regularly get up at 5:00. But there is so much peace and productivity in the early morning hours. I would never voluntarily get up this early in my drinking days.

An awesome blogger I follow (No Wine I’m Fine) celebrates big anniversaries with epic trips. While I’m not taking a trip today, I do count my trip a few weekends ago as a celebration. I do think I’ll take another solo-cation for my four year sobriety anniversary.

One of my life verses is Ecclesiastes 5:20, “For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.” I feel like this is a reflection of how I feel about my drinking days. I don’t much remember them (which has made writing my book especially interesting and hard), but God has kept my heart occupied with such joy that even looking back becomes easier.

Hello 3.5 years, here’s to 3.5 more!