Checklist Charlie
Weakness can be a powerful ally

New Year's brings to mind a thousand things I seem destined to fail at.

I used to be enthusiastic about New Year's resolutions. That was back in the days when I was young and naive; back when I actually thought self-discipline and plain ole stubbornness were enough. Heaven knows I have more than my fair share of stubbornness.

There was the year that I decided that hugging the toilet at the end of a night of partying was beneath my dignity.

That was long before I ever heard the words `alcoholism' or `addiction.'

It turned out to be a heck of a lot harder than I expected to quit drinking. In desperation, I turned to God and, with daily trust in Him, I found myself dealing with the aches and pains of life one day at a time without the initially soothing effects of a drink or two (okay, maybe three or four drinks).

I discovered the power of waking up to prayer, desperate prayer, instead of a hangover. Wow!

Now, I find myself gravitating toward recovering alcoholics. If you know what to look for, they are easy to spot.

-Generally, they are tender folks that have a great deal of compassion for the hurting, imperfect people of the world.

-They are always people who are committed to a spiritual solution to life's challenges.

-They are the ones with a lot of integrity because integrity is necessary for their survival without alcohol.

-Almost always, they have found hope and encouragement through the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. Often, so have their loved ones.

If you are surviving the trials of living with an alcoholic or if you want to make a decision about alcohol in your own life this year, I have some terrific news.

Just in the nick of time, AA of Tyler is sponsoring their one annual anniversary event again this January.

It begins January 11 at 6:00 p.m. with a chili supper. Steve L from Brentwood, Tennessee, will be the last person to speak on Sunday, the 13th at 10:30 a.m. In between there will be speakers almost hourly throughout the weekend, along with food, raffles, and even dancing and music on Saturday night with DJ Luscious. Held at the Harvey Convention Center, 2000 West Front Street in Tyler, there will be laughter and encouragement, too.

Registration is only $15.00 per person at the door. For more info, you can call Jenny K. at 903/312-8964 or Russ G. at 903/574-4884.

While you are the one person who can make a decision about your life, quitting alcohol or living with someone who might be an alcoholic is a lot more realistic with the support of people who get it.

This will be a public gathering with many people who are not alcoholics coming to listen to fabulous speakers and just enjoy the fellowship. You don't have to be an alcoholic to attend.

Anonymity is a crucial element of the success of AA, so they generally steer clear of publicity. I checked first with some AA friends to see if it was okay to write about this conference.

If you coming for the first time to an AA event, don't be shy. Anyone there will be happy to introduce you around.AA folks are like that.

They are humble about life. They tend to laugh a lot.

They know how to stand together. They know what it takes to battle a powerful enemy.

Their weakness turns out to be their best ally in the daily fight to live a life that is wholesome and humble, doing it soberly.

It turns out that their weakness has made them very strong individuals.

Stay tuned because next week I'm going to write about how to recognize the "ism in alcoholism."

Cathy Primer Krafve, aka Checklist Charlie, lives with her family in beautiful East Texas. She welcomes all comments, questions, or lists at CAEKrafve2@aol.com.