Jesus Is Ready to Help!

By Frank S.

My name is Frank, and I am a new creature in Christ (2 Cor 5:17). I am recovering from the malady of alcoholism, which is the misuse of self will. As you will hear from my experience, it runs riot if it is left unchecked. The only way I have found to keep it in check is to turn my will and my life over to the care of Jesus. Step 3 of the 12 steps of recovery says we need to turn our will and our lives over to God as we understand Him– and my understanding of this “higher power” is that it is Jesus Christ. I will try to share in this summary what it was like, what happened, and what it’s like now in my recovery process to show how I have determined Jesus to be the only Highest Power.

I have been sober, one day at a time, through the grace of God for 39 years this March 2025. My family of origin are Hispanic, Polish and Russian. My mother and father were married during World War II, and my father and my four uncles fought over seas in that war–and survived by God’s Grace. The families were God-fearing but not practicing Christians. Their motto was work hard to get ahead. Family was important and each week on Sunday we would be required to visit grandma’s house: one week at the Hispanic side and next at the Slavic side. The trip there was full of expectations that my mother imposed on me and my two sisters. My mother was an alcoholic and insisted on perfection. The get togethers would always start out cordial and loving, then after a period of drinking things would get ugly. Almost everyone drank heavy. The trips home were terrible and I felt that it was all my fault, that I was not good enough. The trips got longer and eventually I found excuses (i.e., lies) not to attend.

The stage was set. I was drinking alcohol. I inherited the “alcohol gene.” And I had rejected God.

I was attending Catholic church as a child, but after a while of finding I was not able to live up to the requirements of the priests (again, I was not good enough), so I decided not to go. I was around twelve years old and began to hang out with some older kids, spending time at the local candy store, smoking cigarettes, and eventually drinking alcohol. I was a self-centered person, which was the root of my problem. Over the next 30 years of drinking, I lost a wife, five children and the ability to work constructively and love people.

Towards the end of this time, I asked an “unknown God” for help, and He sent me to Alcoholics Anonymous. The folks there led me to know God. The 12-step recovery program got me on my way to a purposeful life and a relationship with Jesus as well as providing me with a wonderful wife and restoring my relationship with my children. And now, as a result of receiving Jesus as my Higher Power, I can see that He is the answer to overcoming all the maladies that befall us.

God’s grace allows me to work in Christ Centered recovery, including with other alcoholics who are in Alcoholics Anonymous. And as I lift Jesus up, I pray folks will be drawn to Him. Because of my own journey, I have been involved with the work of recovery in the Adventist church since 1988. It is my prayer that others who need recovery from addictions will contact the Adventist Recovery Ministries for help.