When Sobriety Opened the Door

Sobriety didn’t save me.
But it gave me enough clarity to hear the knock.

For years, my mind was too loud, too fogged, too defended to let anything real in. Addiction kept me surviving, not listening. Sobriety didn’t instantly make me holy—it made me available. Available to truth. Available to pain. Available to grace.

Clear enough to let Jesus into my heart.

What still amazes me is where I found Him.

Not under steeples.
Not in polished pews or perfect prayers.
But in folding chairs, stale coffee, chipped mugs, and rooms full of people the world had written off.

The rooms of AA.

There is more God in those rooms than I ever found in traditional churches. Not because churches are wrong—but because desperation is honest. In AA, no one pretends. No one performs. You don’t need the right words. You just need the truth.

A group of outcasts.
Castoffs.
Ex-cons.
Addicts.
Broken people who stopped running and started serving.

And somehow, God shows up every time.

Jelly Roll says it best in “The Lost”:
“I've been known to find my kind of people
That ain't at home underneath church steeples
You'd be surprised the places I find Jesus
That ain't the regular crowd
I've been down and out
I'm better with the lost than the found
My solid ground is better with the lost than the found

I learn my lessons in dive bars (I learn my lessons in dive bars)
Had Sunday school on the streets (had Sunday school on the streets)
I've done my searchin' behind bars (I've done my searchin' behind bars)
Red letters settin' me free

My sponsor was a heroin junkie.
By the world’s standards, he was disqualified.

By God’s standards, he had the heart of Andrew.

Andrew wasn’t flashy. He wasn’t the loud one. He didn’t command the room. What he did was simple and eternal: he brought people to Jesus. One at a time. Quietly. Faithfully. Through relationship.

That’s what I saw in my sponsor.
That’s what I see in the rooms.

No rousing speeches.
No spotlight.
Just men and women helping the next broken soul find hope—often without ever saying the name Jesus, yet somehow doing exactly what He asked.

Sobriety changed my habits.
Jesus changed my heart.

And it was sobriety that cleared the path so I could finally let Him in.

Scripture

“Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas’ (which, when translated, is Peter).”
— John 1:42

(Andrew didn’t change Peter. He just brought him to Jesus.)

Closing Prayer
Lord, thank You for meeting me where I was—not where I pretended to be.
Thank You for the rooms, the broken people, and the quiet servants who carried Your love before I knew how to receive it. Keep my heart humble, my mind clear, and my life open to bringing others to You—one soul at a time.
Amen.