Forgiven

By Daryl Brown

Daryl grew up in a small town and came from a happy home. After experimenting with alcohol Daryl found himself in the grasps of a hopeless obsession for alcohol. Despite experiencing tremendous amounts of legal trouble and emotional heartache he continued drinking. It was only after the secret intervention of his godparents he would attempt to alter his perspective. As Daryl's godparents become aware of his hopeless situation they get involved. Daryl's godparents led him on carefully planned adventures in order to shift his perspective. After inspiring Daryl with the promise of extravagant wealth as an incentive to give up his addictions. After a series of adventures and cross-country motorcycle rides Daryl is forced to experience a paradigm shift. After running out of gas on I-75 Daryl abandons his new Harley-Davidson and walks to a nearby town. In a small town in Tennessee Daryl has the most important experience of his life. Dehydration and an emotional breakdown present the necessary variables for his paradigm shift.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098090937

Book preview

Chapter 2

Feels Like Yesterday

It feels like just yesterday uncle Noel, and I rode his motorcycle to Illinois state beach for the jet ski races. I was too young to ride a jet ski at the time, but I wasn’t just any boy. I was, The Boy! After I saw the freestyle jetski competition that day I knew by next summer, I would be the champion of the world! I quickly got to work practicing my tricks. I could spin onto the front of the jetski and do a headstand by the end of the day. And it was a short day since the police showed up. I was under 12 years old and not legally permitted to ride a personal watercraft. After turning 12 years old, I took the first available boating class offered at CLC. After overcoming the legal restrictions, I could practice tricks all day. I was ready to be the champion of the world!!!!

My advice to a younger me is don’t waste your talent. If you start drinking now, you might not stop and wake up too old to follow your dreams. Does something inside you say I could be great? Are you gifted with a unique talent? Do you want to be a leader and go beyond what is expected? Don’t listen to be realistic. Go after what you feel inside. The secret to success isn’t showing up every day and trading your time for money. Letting someone else determine what you’re worth. I was unaware I could control my future and simply fell in line with the rest.

The young and athletic body has a short window in which it can recover from injuries quickly. Pursue your dreams and do all you can to create your own future. Break the mold, follow your passion. I took a sip of alcohol when I was 12, and 22 years later realized my window had closed, and I had to accept my reality. Get up, go to work for 40 hours, be responsible blah blah blah until I die. The long road of pain and hardship led me to a spiritual experience where I realized my alcohol dependency was only a learned state of mind.

Step. 12

Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and practice these principles in all our affairs.

The obsession for alcohol was developed over time. I craved alcohol like a man lost in the desert searching for water to quench an unquenchable thirst for survival. It wasn’t until I was so thirsty for water I experienced the phenomenon of craving for water to survive, which was the same craving I have for beer. As the paradigm shift occurs I realize I’ve been beat. I felt deceived by my instincts.

My brain was weird to crave alcohol in the same way it craves water in a survival situation. Now after recognizing the paradigm shift I can’t go back. The same way a pickle can’t go back to a cucumber. I will drink with a thirst for survival and exceed the body’s tolerance and be dead before I have a chance to realize it.

I have lost 22 years of the most crucial life building years, and now I must adjust to my present reality and make the most of what I have left. Don’t miss your window to be something different, something better. Alcohol will blind you and steal your life right in front of your eyes and make you live with it as another Day Slips Past in alcohol’s delusion.

Chapter 3

The roller coaster ride starts here

You’re not the mistakes you’ve made in the past. You’ve already been forgiven. You deserve everything you need and desire. In the beginning, I was filled with doubt and resentment. I hated the world and everything about it. Each second felt like forever, and I just wanted off.

Forgiving myself saved my life. I started thanking God for the air in my lungs when I had nothing. Now I have everything and still thank God for the only thing that matters. Take a deep breath and forgive yourself. Thank the Lord for this opportunity and take one step in the right direction.

Step 2.

Came to believe a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

Continue breathing until you wake up in the morning. Wake up and thank the Lord for all the beautiful blessings in your life today.

Once alcohol becomes a problem in one’s life, rarely does the person return to regular drinking. Like in the movie, All Dogs Go To Heaven. The main character Charlie dies, and like all dogs, Charlie goes to heaven. When Charlie gets to heaven, he meets a beautiful dog angel.

Charlie finds his life’s pocket watch responsible for keeping track of time in his life. The clock stops once the dog dies. But, if Charlie winds his watch in heaven, he returns to earth. The angel warns Charlie that by winding his pocket watch, he will return to the world, but he may never return to heaven. Charlie quickly decides to turn back time on his watch and begins his descent to earth. As he does, the angel dog whispers, you can never come back; you can never come back.

I feel this is the same for the alcoholic. Once the alcoholic problem exists, the blissful experience that works as a universal solution to life’s little problems becomes the problem.