Corking the Bottle

I don't hear voices in my head. Oh yea, there's the one that says, "Come on! You can drink. You will get away with it. One drink never hurt anyone." That voice has been silenced. Now I hear God. As I said, I don't hear voices in my head. But sometimes, there's some kind of something I can't ignore. At A.A. today, I spoke of the silenced voice. It is replaced with Joy. Joy comes only with God, from God, and through God. I thought I was happy before. I was. Sometimes. But happiness is a mood and, by definition, moods change. Happy comes but goes. Joy, however, comes from having a true relationship with God. Joy is forever. I can't describe the difference between happy and joyous. It's just something I feel. Even when bad things happen, my Joy remains intact because God inside me tells me everything will be all right. That is real, God-given Joy. Listen for it, My favorite song ever, Stairway to Heaven , explains: "And if you listen very ...

"I don't drink to get happy or forget the pain. I drink to stop the voices in my head."  -- Andrew Dice Clay I'm sorry for quoting a potty mouth like Dice Clay. But his words, in this instance, apply to the message I wanted to deliver to you today. I once drank because I wanted to. I didn't want to quit. When I finally came to the realization that I had to stop, I still didn't stop. I relapsed again and again. When I bought liquor, it wasn't some part of a big plan, because I was depressed, because I was celebratory, because I was hopeless, or because I was angry. I drank because the voices in my head told me to. "Come on," they said. "Prove to yourself you aren't an alcoholic." "You can just drink a little at a time and you won't get drunk." "Nobody will ever know." "You can drink only late at night and it will help you sleep better." "Don't let Kathy (my w...