Kirjahaku

Have you ever reached the lowest point of your life, a rock bottom from where it's like there's no coming back? If you have, I have an encouragement for you. God has a purpose for that low moment of your life. Read and repeat it again and find hope in that: that low is only for a moment, and God has purpose in it. Many people have asked me why we hit rock bottom. I can't give a precise explanation why God allows us to hit rock bottom at times, but I do know that it happens for a reason. Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us,"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven."

Seven years ago ... I crashed and washed ashore on the banks of sobriety. That was the beginning of the end of my chaotic life or the storm of my life was ready to calm itself.When I was growing up, when I thought of an alcoholic, I thought of some toothless old guy in a trench coat in a basement somewhere. I just never thought that would apply to me. That type of stigma kept me from getting the help that I needed when I knew I needed it.I have always been transparent about my journey with addiction. What I've learned is that this illness is not something that disappears or fades with time, It is something I must continue to overcome and have not done yet, its a 24 hour day of survival with sobriety, but it's getting easier each hour, each day and each year.Some people ask. When are you going to be able to have a drink again' And my answer to that is, 'I've already drank all the drinks that I was supposed to drink in one lifetime.I don't know if I was born an alcoholic, but I was definitely born anxious. The alcoholism came to me early in life, after a few years of drinking to ease stress and worry, and to fend off panic. I will say this, being in recovery has given me everything of value that I have in my life. I now have Integrity, honesty, fearlessness, faith, a relationship with God, and most of all gratitude. IGod has given me a beautiful wife and an amazing passion to help others. I'm under no illusion where I would be without the gift of alcoholism and the chance to recover from it.If you're reading my memoir you are either living a life of chaos or your life is so calm that you have no idea of what chaos is. Maybe you are a fan of mine and enjoyed all my other books.Either way, let my chaos throughout the years show you how I have been able to stay so calm, so positive and so compassionate. There are many situations of my past that caused chaos and how I mostly created my own chaotic life that most people would scratch their head and say why?"Why would a person be so self destructive? Why would a person let themselves wander so far off course? Well friends, I can't pinpoint the problem exactly, but here are the 2 major things that played a role. The disease of alcoholism had a hold on me. The lack of God in my life played a crucial part.Get a coffee or tea, sit back and read how I went from a chaotic life to calm life with God's guidance and direction.

After many years of an unmanageble life, Ralf's struggles with life and addiction became manageble when he surrendered to God, not to booze.

I have surrounded myself with positivity and have an easier time seeing the good in other people. The reverse is also true. People who teach themselves to see the good in others tend to be more positive and experience happiness more deeply. Seeing the good in others requires us to question our assumptions, but, it is worth the effort. By the time I reached my 50's, I have had decades to form opinions about others. Some of these are justified and others are based purely on our own biases. As a result, if we want to find true happiness in the second half of our life, we need to remind ourselves to see the good in people.Like many of us in life, I have faced many different crisis in life, but I never, ever gave up. After each stumble, after each accident I have kept going, not because Im this strong person, but because God felt that my time on earth was not finished yet. Although I did not have Christ in my life, God knew that my Christian faith instilled in me by my Mother would come to surface within time. The time had to be chosen by me, maybe only after God threw so many personal crises in my way, would I realize that I needed God's help to guide and direct me. That time was 6/22/2013, that was the day I was born again, it became my second birthday in life.Challenges are a part of life. Whether it be challenging times, people or circumstances, most of us can relate to coming up against roadblocks in life that feel hard, unfair, or that can even be devastating at times. Some people face the most unthinkable tragedies and somehow come out the other side stronger. Others crumble under the weight of the pressure and heartache they face.In times of struggle, having a resilient spirit becomes an asset that seems to transform challenges into opportunities for growth.