“I’m sure God wants me to be happy, joyous, and free.”
Those words hit differently now. In my 5th year of recovery, they’re not just a nice idea, they’re a promise I cling to. At the end of me drinking, I couldn’t imagine happiness with or without the bottle. Joy seemed fake, and freedom felt impossible. I was trapped in a cycle of self-destruction, shame, and spiritual disconnection. But through pain came willingness to surrender, through the Twelve Steps, and through a growing relationship with God, I’ve come to believe that He does want something better for me. He wants me healed. He wants me whole. He wants me to have useful purpose. He wants me free—not just from alcohol, but from the fear, guilt, and lies that kept me bound to booze.
Happiness today isn’t found in what I can get, but in what I can give. It’s in the moments of clarity, connection, and quiet peace that I used to chase in all the wrong places. Joy comes when I do the next right thing and trust God with the results. Freedom is the biggest gift of all. I’m no longer a prisoner to my past, my thoughts or my impulses. God’s grace gives me a new way of living 1 day at a time. He’s teaching me to live in truth, walk in love, and let go of the chains that once defined me.
Recovery is not just about not drinking, it’s about transformation. It’s about living with purpose and integrity, about learning to forgive and be forgiven. I believe with all my heart that God brought me out of the darkness not just to survive, but to thrive. He wants me to be happy, joyous, and free—and by His strength, I am all three.
- Andrew M.
Happy, Joyous and Free
When I first read this statement I felt that I had never experienced these emotions, and it was impossible to even comprehend ever feeling them. After a life of complete selfishness and being ruled by crippling fears, I just couldn't even imagine being happy, joyous and free. I just did not want to drink.
But now being sober awhile and after many inventories and much soul-searching, I find I was completely wrong. I have discovered there have been several occasions where I had enjoyed at least one of these emotions. And even though they were short lived and fleeting, I now know that it was God allowing me to feel those wonderful and soothing feelings. I just couldn't hold on to them.
These days I have the hope of living under those wonderful emotions. But living life under life’s terms is sometimes very difficult, and these uncertain times can cause me to have uneasiness and doubts. But my faith is that God will show me the way to find Light in dark situations and through this trust I find myself being Happy, Joyous and Free.
-Mark D.
Happy or Miserable?
“Avoid then the deliberate manufacture of misery…” (Big Book, p.133)
When I was drinking, I made decisions that made all my other problems incredibly worse. I’d blame the painful consequences on other people or bad luck or my dysfunctional childhood.
Life happens. Disappointments, sickness, and tragedies can still derail me even though I’m sober now. AA has shown me, though, that I don’t have to blame others, run away, or drink over it. I have watched other recovering alcoholics handle terminal cancer, the death of a child, divorce, job loss, and serious PTSD – all “with dignity and grace,” as a friend puts it.
Years ago, a man in one of my regular meetings, who had already lost his wife, came down with the disease that would kill him. Several of us kept bringing a meeting to him every week in the nursing home he’d moved into. He spoke frankly about the toll the medical treatments were taking on him and his fear of dying. But he would say to us, “Guys, I’m more afraid of losing my sobriety than dying.” Then he’d encourage the rest of us and listen to whatever small problems we were going through. We’d leave feeling lightened and more confident that we didn’t have to drink either. As he used to say, “We borrow each other’s courage.”
Remembering how others have “matched calamity with serenity” pushes me to stop feeling sorry for myself, to get back into the solution, and to find someone I can help.
I no longer need to keep digging a deeper and deeper hole. I can’t control what life throws at me, but the solution given me in AA means I don’t have to “manufacture my own misery” ever again.
-Kevin P.
Northside Tuesday Night Group
Group History
Name of Group: Last Chance Group
Date Founded: February 14, 1990
Founders: Marty D.
Place of First Meeting: Covington Community Center, Lee & Pike Streets
Marty wanted to focus on the new guy, so meeting should:
· Have free coffee and cookies
· Be an open meeting
· Be a lead meeting
· Have kids welcome
· Be a smoking meeting (so everyone could come)
· Be in an inner city location
Started with about 7 members. Very first meeting included:
· Marty, Phyllis. Mimi, Janet. Guy, Ricky B., Babe
Bob Rich was the first lead. They passed around a toy truck for the basket.
Originally had comments after the lead because the meeting was so small (only if the lead was shorter than an hour).
After 6 years, the Covington Community Center went non-smoking, so the meeting moved. Kevin L. got the meeting in at the St. Aloisius Church basement at 7th and Main, Covington. After about 10 years (2005) the meeting moved again to our present location here at St. Bernard Church, Dayton, KY.
Thanks to the efforts of several alcoholics, the meeting has survived a smoking ban, the basement remodeling and the Covid virus.
Submitted by: Jim Dies
Happy, Joyous and Free.
Practicing AA gives us a whole new outlook on life. It gives us an attitude of gratitude that we didn’t even know existed. My family and my friends (not in the program) sometimes think that I don’t care as much about life. But the truth is “If God’s got it, then why do I have to worry”.
Every day life comes at us and we must make decisions that will affect others. We can’t always make the right decision, but with God’s help, we can at least not make the worst decision. And more importantly, we can stand by our decision knowing that we did the best we could and we are willing to take the outcome good or bad.
Each morning, I start my day by giving thanks to my Higher Power for another day alive and being sober. I then ask for His help in all my decisions for the day.
During the day, I look for physical signs that remind me of a beautiful world. One of these is the drive North of I-75 coming down the cut in the hill and you first see downtown Cincinnati. Is it the most glorious sight ever? No. But it makes me smile and gives me the opportunity to say thanks God. Yesterday’s sky was also a chance to say thanks. The sky was clear and blue with white puffy clouds. Wow! Look for things in your life that make you smile and then give immediate thanks to a God that gave you these gifts.
I end my day giving thanks for another day sober and for all the gifts I received. It is also time to think about whether I have harmed others and need to ask for forgiveness.
Trying to live life happy, joyous and free demands work. That work, though, is the time and energy needed to connect with my Higher Power – and it is totally worth it.
-Mick S