Excerpt

Chapter 11

THE MIRACLE

I was having a few problems dealing with the mess I was in. I was lonely for my family and wanted to go home. I knew if I went home I would have to pay the bill, because my insurance company only paid if I completed the treatment. I didnt know which way to turn and I dont even remember going to my room and getting down on my knees and praying. I prayed, God please help me, I cant handle this alcohol any longer. It is ruining my life and marriage and I want to stop the alcohol now. At the time I got down on my knees, my room was totally dark. All of a sudden a bright fabulous light lit up my room and I could see a face in the light. There were no words spoken but somehow I interpreted that the urge to drink alcohol had been lifted from my body. During this whole experience, I could feel a slight pressure on my left shoulder, like there was a hand resting on it. That was almost 21 years ago, and I have not had a single urge to drink alcohol since that evening.

I dont know what the face was that I saw, but to me it looked like George Washington, with long whitish hair, and it was like it was part of the light. The light was extremely bright, yet it did not hurt my eyes. There were no words spoken; yet I felt that the urge to drink alcohol had been lifted from my body.

As I lay in my bed I recalled that this was the first time I had prayed since my brother had been killed. I realized I had a life to live and I was going to do it sober. I had a great nights sleep and was awake very early in the morning. I was happy. I knew I would never drink again. I walked around like a new man, and appreciated everything on earth. There was nothing that could change my mood. I didnt really know what happened that previous night but I knew it had changed my life.

I had never heard of anything like this ever happening and I decided that it would have to be my secret. I figured if I told anyone about this they would commit me to the house for insane people. It was fifteen years later that I told Marge what had happened and she said that it must have been really neat. I was all prepared to defend my story and swear on a Bible that it really happened, but Marge believed me right away. The only reason I did finally tell her about my experience was because I had read a book that talked about a light. A lady had died, went to Heaven and then came back to write a book about her experience. She also didnt tell anyone about her experience because she also thought people would think she was crazy. I bought that book when a friend of mine told me to buy it for another friend, that had just had just lost his four-year-old son in an accident. I wanted to read the book before I gave it to him so I bought two copies.

After telling Marge about my experience, I told my children one by one and they didnt doubt my word either. As time went on I began telling several people about my experience and I didnt really care if they believed me or not. I knew that it had happened and I also knew the urge for alcohol was gone and that was all that mattered.

After my experience the time in the treatment center went real fast, and they let me out early because they said I was a changed person. I now prayed a lot. Not just for my family and myself but for all the people in the treatment center, including staff.

It seemed like no time and I was ready to give my departure speech. I wanted to mention the light so bad but I didnt want to be laughed at or doubted. After my speech and a good nights sleep it was time to go home.

I was standing in the hallway, and my four-year-old daughter came running toward me and jumped up, right into my arms. It was great. I was sober and had a family to go home to. A lot of the people in the treatment center had lost jobs and family to end up where they were. I said goodbye to my friends and counselors and we were on our way home.

I wanted to tell Marge about the light, but I knew it would have to be later in life, which it ended up to be. It was time to go home and get back to work. It was time to be the father and husband I was meant to be. I found out in short time that although I was sober it was going to take a long time to build the trust with my family. I worked very hard at it and so did my family and after a while I built up the trust again.

A couple years down the road, we had family counseling so everyone could get used to having a sober father and husband around. We worked at it and became the best family we could. We had our bad times and disappointments, but also had our fun times.