I was a State Director of an organization with offices in Wichita, Topeka, and Kansas City. I had a lot of freedom. I had an expense account. I was my own boss. All this freedom combined was probably one the worst things to ever happen in my life. I felt like, “I’m free. I’m going to do what I want to do.“ So I started drinking. If I had a lot to drink on a given night I wouldn’t show up for work until 11:00 the next morning, when everyone else had reported on time. When I needed to make a trip to Wichita I would stop and pick up a six pack of beer on the way to the office. Things fell apart. In the meantime, my wife had been attending *Al-Anon meetings. She was learning how to live with an alcoholic. I didn’t know this. I never admitted to being an alcoholic, but she knew I was. That’s why she was attending these meetings.
I did a lot of things I shouldn’t have done, for example, I had relations with other women. One of the women was an employee at work. The Board of Directors called me in. After questioning me about this they terminated my employment, effective immediately. That was when I realized that what my wife had been telling me was true. Maybe I did have a drinking problem and need to get some help.
We called the pastor of the First Assembly of God in Topeka, KS late one night and asked if we could meet him at the church. He consented and he counseled us for quite some time. I said the sinner’s prayer, asking for forgiveness for all these things I had done. From that point on everything changed. It was a whole different world. I attended Alcoholics Anonymous for several years which gave me a wonderful foundation. Along with church and my relationship with God I have now gone for thirty-five years without having a drink of alcohol.
*Al-Anon, “is a worldwide fellowship that offers a program of recovery for the families and friends of alcoholics, whether or not the alcoholic recognizes the existence of a drinking problem or seeks help.”www.al-anon.alateen.org
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