my careless contagion

Before this month ends, I should say something short and sweet about being seven years sober. It may not mean anything to anyone else, but I don't want to take for granted what God did and how He set me free from that bondage. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for setting me free.  It was seven years ago in the month of April I gave up alcohol. Looking back on my life, it's easy to see why I drank so hard and for so long (about 16 years hardcore). It was a means to erase my past and forget things I couldn't forget. But freedom or forgiveness didn't come in a bottle. It came only through my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I wasn't a mean drunk or anything. I just wanted to erase myself, as I saw myself as the problem. True, my problems reside within me, but killing myself wasn't the solution. My life improved dramatically after I stopped drinking, then all the trauma from my childhood and ugly marriage came to the surface at once. I kept everything from the previous 36 ...

I decided, after enduring one of the worst years of my life (2019), it's clear this new year needs to carry a different tune. In my praying and soul searching, I've gone to God to ask what kind of attitude I should have through all of these harsh realities. The answer was I should rejoice, I should praise Him, and I should be thankful. So I will focus on those themes in 2020. I do, after all, have a lot to rejoice about, praise God about, and be thankful for.  God's answers to my many prayers are in themselves something to rejoice about, praise Him for, and be thankful for. But I was reminded of a moment when I was told to essentially discard a great blessing, at least, symbolically. It involved a bad sweater.  It seems like a long time ago, but it wasn't that long ago. When my ex, Kate, and I moved to the Black Hills nearly 6 years ago, we were starting over. We barely had any money. She was working part-time, and we had crazy bills to pay. She cashed in her ret...