What Happened to My Life When I Quit Drinking
Over the years, I've read articles written by people who have quit drinking for a whole thirty days. (THIRTY DAYS?) They want to tell us how it affected them, and what differences they noticed.
The articles pretty much mimic each other: I felt better because I didn’t have a hangover. I had more energy because I didn’t have a hangover. I got more done because I didn’t have a hangover. I saved money because I wasn’t spending it on alcohol. I felt healthier because I wasn’t killing my body with drink.
These are pretty typical results for anyone who quits a bad habit. They’re not really life-changing because thirty days isn’t enough time to transform a person’s life. If you drink, and you really want to know what will happen to your life if you stop … then STOP!
I don’t mean take a thirty-day break. I mean really quit drinking and see what happens.
I clearly remember what prompted Toby and I to stop drinking. We didn’t like what it was doing to our lives. We wanted to be true servants of Christ and knew that as long as alcohol was a part of our lives, we’d never be who God created us to be. We chose God over alcohol and our lives changed drastically!!!
What happened in the first thirty days of sobriety? NOTHING! Oh, wait! We weren’t hungover anymore! That’s it. Now ask me what has happened over the last eight years (that’s how long it’s been since we’ve had a drink). We have new lives, new passions, new goals, new purposes. We can easily say we have completely transformed our lives.
We’ve reached new heights we never imagined, craved after, or even thought about before. We became more ambitious. We quit giving up on things that seemed “too hard to achieve.” We started believing in ourselves more. We picked up new hobbies; things we didn’t even know we were interested in when we were drinkers, because we were too busy drinking every weekend.
Here are some of the things we’ve done over the past eight years. We both went back to school and got our bachelor’s degrees (at the same time). Toby became more ambitious in his career, which led to numerous promotions. His salary has more than tripled! He is about to complete his master’s degree. He’s an avid reader now and has studied theology in his spare time over the last eight years. You may be thinking, Big deal! He read some books. When I met Toby, he had absolutely no interest in reading anything … ever! He was completely satisfied with his life where it was. No drive. No ambition. No goals. Just existing. Alcohol-free, he is on a quest for knowledge. He never stops learning.
I wasn’t too far off. The difference between us was that I had huge goals, but absolutely no idea how to achieve them, so I gave up on them. All my prayers and all my dreams seemed out of reach, so I moved on and built myself a career in real estate.
After I quit drinking, my life improved in every area. I won’t go over how much better I felt physically, because that’s a given. But, suddenly, I found I had the time to do anything I wanted to do in life.
I’ll be honest here: I really believed I was nuts to think I could transform my life, but I had a husband who encouraged me to quit my job and go after my dreams. I went back to school fulltime and got a degree in theology. I graduated summa cum laude from Liberty University. I wrote two Christian books while in school and then after graduation I pursued the writing career I’d always wanted. I’ve written four fiction books and I’m currently working on my next masterpiece.
If you’re a drinker and you’re reading this thinking: Well, that’s what happened for THEM. I could never transform MY life like that. I don’t know where to begin. I don’t have the means, or the money. I’m not ambitious, etc… Think again!
Let’s take a closer look at living a sober life. Anytime you give up your sinful lusts and choose to live in obedience to God’s Word, He will rain blessings down on you. He will create opportunity, open doors, and give you favor. He paves the way. Your goals are attainable, because all things are possible with God! ALL THINGS! Jesus said so (Matthew 19:26)! He also said anything is possible if a person believes (Mark 9:23). Do you think He knew what He was talking about?!!
Every time huge changes are about to happen in my life, God sends me this Scripture: “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19).
Don’t waste your time on these articles that say: quitting drinking saved me money, gave me more energy, I quit making a fool out of myself, I was healthier, blah, blah, blah.
You have to look at the BIG picture. Do you really want to see HUGE changes in your life? Then quit drinking now and completely transform your life into what you want it to be. What are your career goals? Your health goals? Your relationship goals? I know you don’t have healthy relationships if you’re a regular drinker or substance abuser.
Toby and I did not have the healthiest relationship when we drank because it would cause us to fight when we were intoxicated. I’m putting it all out there for you today! We would drink and then fight. Let me tell you something remarkable! When we quit drinking, our relationship AUTOMATICALLY became healthy. For almost a decade we’ve enjoyed a strong, healthy, loving, happy, God-blessed marriage. In fact, I regularly write blogs and posts about how to have (and keep) a healthy and happy marriage. There are steps you can take, being sober is one of them.
When Toby and I look back over our drinking years, we see repeated bad behavior and nonexistent goals. Life in the slow lane. When we look back over our nondrinking years, we realize we’ve lived more life in the last eight years than we had in the seventeen years we drank. Did you hear that? We’ve achieved more in eight years than we did in seventeen. Wow! That’s something to think about!
If you want to stop drinking (maybe you’re struggling with it, or you think you can’t quit), take it to the Lord and confess what’s in your heart. Remember, anything is possible with God and you can achieve anything, if you believe. You have a future ahead of you, and it’s a bright one filled with hope and promise because we serve a good God! Your life can be anything you want it to be.
I’ve never shared our testimony about our drinking, but today the Lord prompted me to put this out there. There’s someone reading this right now and you think your life will never improve. You think there’s no hope or opportunity for you; that your life could never be more than what it is today. That’s not true. God created us to live bold lives.
If anyone feels compelled to write to Toby and me, please feel free to do so. We would love to talk with you!
Love and Blessings!
The articles pretty much mimic each other: I felt better because I didn’t have a hangover. I had more energy because I didn’t have a hangover. I got more done because I didn’t have a hangover. I saved money because I wasn’t spending it on alcohol. I felt healthier because I wasn’t killing my body with drink.
These are pretty typical results for anyone who quits a bad habit. They’re not really life-changing because thirty days isn’t enough time to transform a person’s life. If you drink, and you really want to know what will happen to your life if you stop … then STOP!
I don’t mean take a thirty-day break. I mean really quit drinking and see what happens.
I clearly remember what prompted Toby and I to stop drinking. We didn’t like what it was doing to our lives. We wanted to be true servants of Christ and knew that as long as alcohol was a part of our lives, we’d never be who God created us to be. We chose God over alcohol and our lives changed drastically!!!
What happened in the first thirty days of sobriety? NOTHING! Oh, wait! We weren’t hungover anymore! That’s it. Now ask me what has happened over the last eight years (that’s how long it’s been since we’ve had a drink). We have new lives, new passions, new goals, new purposes. We can easily say we have completely transformed our lives.
We’ve reached new heights we never imagined, craved after, or even thought about before. We became more ambitious. We quit giving up on things that seemed “too hard to achieve.” We started believing in ourselves more. We picked up new hobbies; things we didn’t even know we were interested in when we were drinkers, because we were too busy drinking every weekend.
Here are some of the things we’ve done over the past eight years. We both went back to school and got our bachelor’s degrees (at the same time). Toby became more ambitious in his career, which led to numerous promotions. His salary has more than tripled! He is about to complete his master’s degree. He’s an avid reader now and has studied theology in his spare time over the last eight years. You may be thinking, Big deal! He read some books. When I met Toby, he had absolutely no interest in reading anything … ever! He was completely satisfied with his life where it was. No drive. No ambition. No goals. Just existing. Alcohol-free, he is on a quest for knowledge. He never stops learning.
I wasn’t too far off. The difference between us was that I had huge goals, but absolutely no idea how to achieve them, so I gave up on them. All my prayers and all my dreams seemed out of reach, so I moved on and built myself a career in real estate.
After I quit drinking, my life improved in every area. I won’t go over how much better I felt physically, because that’s a given. But, suddenly, I found I had the time to do anything I wanted to do in life.
I’ll be honest here: I really believed I was nuts to think I could transform my life, but I had a husband who encouraged me to quit my job and go after my dreams. I went back to school fulltime and got a degree in theology. I graduated summa cum laude from Liberty University. I wrote two Christian books while in school and then after graduation I pursued the writing career I’d always wanted. I’ve written four fiction books and I’m currently working on my next masterpiece.
If you’re a drinker and you’re reading this thinking: Well, that’s what happened for THEM. I could never transform MY life like that. I don’t know where to begin. I don’t have the means, or the money. I’m not ambitious, etc… Think again!
Let’s take a closer look at living a sober life. Anytime you give up your sinful lusts and choose to live in obedience to God’s Word, He will rain blessings down on you. He will create opportunity, open doors, and give you favor. He paves the way. Your goals are attainable, because all things are possible with God! ALL THINGS! Jesus said so (Matthew 19:26)! He also said anything is possible if a person believes (Mark 9:23). Do you think He knew what He was talking about?!!
Every time huge changes are about to happen in my life, God sends me this Scripture: “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19).
Don’t waste your time on these articles that say: quitting drinking saved me money, gave me more energy, I quit making a fool out of myself, I was healthier, blah, blah, blah.
You have to look at the BIG picture. Do you really want to see HUGE changes in your life? Then quit drinking now and completely transform your life into what you want it to be. What are your career goals? Your health goals? Your relationship goals? I know you don’t have healthy relationships if you’re a regular drinker or substance abuser.
Toby and I did not have the healthiest relationship when we drank because it would cause us to fight when we were intoxicated. I’m putting it all out there for you today! We would drink and then fight. Let me tell you something remarkable! When we quit drinking, our relationship AUTOMATICALLY became healthy. For almost a decade we’ve enjoyed a strong, healthy, loving, happy, God-blessed marriage. In fact, I regularly write blogs and posts about how to have (and keep) a healthy and happy marriage. There are steps you can take, being sober is one of them.
When Toby and I look back over our drinking years, we see repeated bad behavior and nonexistent goals. Life in the slow lane. When we look back over our nondrinking years, we realize we’ve lived more life in the last eight years than we had in the seventeen years we drank. Did you hear that? We’ve achieved more in eight years than we did in seventeen. Wow! That’s something to think about!
If you want to stop drinking (maybe you’re struggling with it, or you think you can’t quit), take it to the Lord and confess what’s in your heart. Remember, anything is possible with God and you can achieve anything, if you believe. You have a future ahead of you, and it’s a bright one filled with hope and promise because we serve a good God! Your life can be anything you want it to be.
I’ve never shared our testimony about our drinking, but today the Lord prompted me to put this out there. There’s someone reading this right now and you think your life will never improve. You think there’s no hope or opportunity for you; that your life could never be more than what it is today. That’s not true. God created us to live bold lives.
If anyone feels compelled to write to Toby and me, please feel free to do so. We would love to talk with you!
Love and Blessings!
No comments have been added yet.
