I was in Home Depot yesterday afternoon getting supplies to build a "special" for a client and turned down the aisle for hardware and there he was; Bob S.  I was just thinking about him and his wife.  The last time I spoke with him was after a morning meeting that he showed up for after a rerun with his favorite "punch".  He had sober time and of course insanity time before coming into local program.  I sponsored him and it worked for a while just as it often does with "thinkers".  He did well at the start and then thought his way out of it again.  I knew it would be difficult because he and I had thinking problem experiences.  So we started out again as usual and abruptly he disappeared again.  I don't chase sponsees nor do I force them to work it.  I do a lot of turning it over after we "step" together and so I did that again with Bob S.  He's got an agile brain and had to trust and use it all the time even when he was drinking.  He is a former helicopter pilot who use to fly critical tasks all the time...I'm a former pilot who use to break rules of physics all the time and take huge risks.  My greatest justification for still being on the face of the earth is luck.  Anyway there he was and we were elated to see each other and he jumped in and reported that he got and stayed sober for 3.5 years now.  I know most of the fellowship on this side of the island and had not seen Bob S. at a meeting for a long time.  "How have you been doing it"? I asked  and he replied he had found a book on moderation and mental reprogramming.  "You look great"!!  "It's working.  Congradulations".  He was a bit skeptical about telling me "How" because he knows my practice is centered in the program as HP led me to it and kept me in it.   I let him talk and came to understand again the saying on the last chip my wife gave me on my birthday "If God led you to it...God will lead you thru it".   We spoke a long time.  Home depot service people commented on our friendship and friendly conversation and just before we parted I told him "A strong part of my recovery today is mental sobriety" and he looked at me and asked "What"?   "Mental sobriety is very important for me Bob...I stressed my brain and ability to think sanely very badly and the longer I stay sober the chances of that reversing get better and better and not as good as if I had never drank".  He went to thinking...running that over and over again in his mind...he's a thinker.  "That's another angle I can use today...thanks".

His business is booming and they live in their own home.  His marriage is steady and happy and so is his marriage with the people he has hired to grow literally his mushroom business.  He is sought after and appreciated by his wide community and he hasn't had  the need to drink since he picked up that "other" book and he's excited about it.  Five years ago my wife and I went to his home to 12 step him and his wife as a married couple under the influence of alcohol addiction.  We did what we were directed to do by our programs and HP without knowing how it would come out and when I told my wife I "met Bob in the Home Depot and he was sober and florishing" she smiled and said..."Thats great"!!   Yes it is and we have an invitation to go down and see their growth and celebrate with them.

God can and will if He is sought...always.