Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.

Proverbs‬ ‭10‬:‭9

It is an overwhelming task to sober up. And this is made worse when we feel like we have to do it alone.

When we accept the help freely offered by others and embrace the fellowship of recovery, we take a big step in the right direction.

This is hard for some of us who aren’t used to needing help and harder still for others who are socially awkward and inexperienced.

But we find that willingness and small steps forward are more than enough to keep us on the beam. We can begin the social experiment reluctantly so long as we do actually try it. It’s much more difficult to get sober and stay that way alone.

But then something curious happens.

We are invited to events. Weddings, parties, dinners and the like. We begin to feel as though we are back in the realm of the living. And before long, we will probably be out in situations where we could be in jeopardy.

What do we do? Retreat? Did we invite too much life into our modified version of it?

Sobriety is about arresting a malady of our own mind and body not about avoiding a substance outright. But, we would do well to exercise some discretion nonetheless.

Everyone will develop their own standards and comfort levels for being around drinking. Some will be bothered by it more than others. Time of exposure and the degrees of drinking matter too.

Take God and the counsel of others with you as you prepare yourself for these situations. If you don’t have a good reason to be there at all, don’t go.

Otherwise, having an exit plan in place will serve dividends if you need to bail early.

And remember: no one really cares that we aren’t drinking anymore, if they even notice.

God, guard my heart as I live in this weird world.