And we all, with unveiled faces, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭18

It goes against every fiber of me to accept that I’m incapable of solving my own problems.

I want to help others, but I don’t want to need help. I want to encourage others, but I don’t want to admit struggles.

I want to grow in faith, but I don’t want to put in the reps. I want to move forward, but I’m lazy.

The attitude of the recovering alcoholic is at once pliable and rigid. Oscillating between extremes, we confuse ourselves half the time. Maybe it’s one of the reasons drinking helped in the beginning.

If I’m to have any hope of permanence in this sober venture—and this is my goal—I must admit that I’ll need the work of the Spirit to transform me.

Death to life. It’s cliche, sure. It makes it no less accurate, though. When we arrive in the afterbirth of sobriety it certainly feels like a bit of both.

We’ve managed to not actually die while we feel as though we’ve been on the cusp of it. And we often experience acute pieces of hope in those early days. We carry a confusing combination of two worlds—the sober and the drunk.

To live, we will need transformation. To change, we will need willingness and honesty. To comply, we will need to hurt. And to not go back, we will need to endure.

But our hope is glory. Our hope is in a Spirit that supersedes our shortsightedness.

God, give me the encouragement that can only come from your Spirit.