Let's All Play Truth or Consequences

"There are a lot of excuses, but never reasons."
     --Cynthia, A.A.

At a meeting last month, Liza confided her dad is kicking out her brother because he can't or won't quit abusing. At the same meeting, Judy, sadly but resolutely, shared that she is moving and leaving her abusing son with no place to go.

I think those are good choices, made reluctantly, as a result of others' poor choices.

Life is all about choices -- dozens of them every day, big and small. When we make poor choices, we have to live with the consequences. Certainly I made some bad choices, many of those driven by an addiction to alcohol. Certainly I suffered the consequences. But I have moved on and, with help from God, learned from the bad choices so that now my choosing makes life better. I'm in a position to blog and help others.

Mark, at that same A.A. meeting, pointed out that none of us decides, "Hey! A.A. would be a fun place to go. No, we had to face our consequences and live with the choices we made."

It's never too late to turn our lives around. I hope that Liza's brother and Judy's son will learn before it's too late. Many of us have lots to put in order before we are ready to move on with our lives, and that can take time and hard work. I never heard anyone claim that healing is easy. The alternative is institutionalization and/or a coffin.