No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:13

We are afflicted with terminal uniqueness at some point early on—before we start drinking.

Our addictions infuse this ingrained desire to confirm our special humanity and continues to wedge between us and others.

Looking around we justify a fog of addiction, damaged relationships and broken character with the assurance that ours is a unique case. Our life is set apart somehow, and this’ll all make sense one day.

The crappy thing is—there’s a good deal of truth underpinning this excuse to keep using…We are uniquely us—just not in the selfish, excuse-driven way we immediately think of.

We have been bought with a price and we were known before time came to be.

But we aren’t excused from pissing our lives away.

As we butt up against hard reality that requires change and commitment and help and perseverance, we shrivel from these postures of adulthood, searching for the fleeting freedom of one more drink.

This is not unique. In this we follow millions of others. We ought not trust our feelings too much in early sobriety—they’re going to be all over the place.

Instead, know that what we face is common to all men—that there’s nothing special or admirable about running away from our problems, our feelings, our life.

We all do it.

But it’ll kill us if we keep at it.

God, thank you that I’m as special as everybody else.