Passover begins this coming Sunday, April 20, 2008.
I have some friends who are working really hard to say sober. They're attending AA meetings and going to counseling and doing about anything and everything to escape their addiction.
I was thinking about how addiction to alcohol is like being enslaved and how similar is the escape.
It took ten plagues visited upon the Egyptians before the Pharaoh let the Israelis go. All of the plagues were pretty bad in my view.
- Water sources turned to blood
- Frogs
- Gnats
- Flies
- Disease on livestock
- Boils
- Hail with fire
- Locusts
- Darkness
- Death of first born
It is heartbreaking to meet some of these addicts and get to know them as individuals instead of some label. Labels are terrible in how they mask the humanness of individuals. It is easier to disregard and ignore an alcoholic than it is Joe's sister, Sarah.
At a meeting not too long ago the question was asked about how long everyone had been sober. One very young man upon his turn asked "well, what time is it?" He was serious. He had come from jail directly to the meeting. I asked about him later in the week and was told he was already back in jail. He did not make it very long this time around.
It took the death of the first born children before the slaves were released. That's a lot like reaching bottom I think.
But it turned out the being set free was only the first step.
The next was that the entire nation had to leave Egypt and they had to flee into this vast wilderness where they wandered around for a long time. They had a lot of hard stuff happen out there in the wilderness, too. All of that generation, except two, died before reaching the destination.
When freedom was granted they had to leave in a hurry. It had to be right then. It couldn't be later. So they made unleavened bread. Crackers basically. Bread does not last very long and does not pack very easily either. Crackers last a while and are pretty easily stowed for travel.
Anyway - just stuff I've been thinking about.
3 comments:
"Anyway - just stuff I've been thinking about."
You always think of such interesting stuff, Flinty!
I think of WEIRD stuff!
Example: My son keeps asking me what "manna" is. I tried to explain that it was a bread-like substance that was placed on the ground by God because the people needed food to eat and they were trusting God to provide it.
Every morning when he takes the dogs out side he comes in to tell me that there is only dew on the grass. I have this sinking feeling that my son will spend a lot of time looking for "manna" in my front yard.
loved your post terry. your comment about "Labels are terrible in how they mask the humanness of individuals. It is easier to disregard and ignore an alcoholic than it is Joe's sister, Sarah." really made me think. unfortunately, how true that is.
thanks for the thought provoking thought.
good post Terry. Don't know if I ever told you that Helen was sober 37 years in AA when she died. We actually met in a meeting. Wish I knew what it would take for my brother to hit bottom.
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