Three Years Sober

I feel I need to give mention to a big milestone in the life of my family. I should have posted this 4 or 5 days ago (to hit the anniversary on the right day), but either way I am posting it now.

I am thankful for the sobriety of my brother. My brother is officially a recovering alcoholic for 3 years. He doesn't make a big deal of this, but it is definitely something I have thought about lately.

Over three years ago I had a brother that I didn't know if he would live to see his daughter grow up. I didn't know if his wife would ever feel she would see relief from the prison she lived in, and I was unsure if his daughter would have a father who would come to her recitals, play games with her, or take an interest in her life.

My brother might drive me crazy on different days, but I wholeheartedly respect him for his strength and his courage to become sober. His journey to sobriety was hard and was not absent of legalities, but nonetheless, Steve has made it...and he is continuing to make it in his sobriety.

My brother's alcoholism penetrated each part of our family in different ways. From my own personal experience, I remember a brother who moved home my senior year of high school because he had his license revoked for drunk driving. There are parts of that year I would like to forget, but I know that God was working. I was angry at Steve and felt that he stepped into a part of my life and took something from me. Addiction is a terrible disease. It steals the person you love and makes them a monster. It steals the family you know and makes it obsessed. It steals your thoughts and it makes everyone angry.

I love Steve for fighting his addiction everyday. I love him for making his life worth living, and in turn making the rest of our lives worth living. Three years sober means three years of healing that our family has done. God has been good to us. Our burden has become our strength, and in many ways I believe that no one in my family would change our story.

I don't mean for this post to be so intense and deep, but it is something that I have been thinking about lately and wanted to give a few props to my brother and my family (especially Stacy). God has brought us through this journey and we are walking together closer than ever.