Flashback–Happy, Joyous, and Free
In my early years of recovery, I spent hours reading The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous and highlighted several sentences and paragraphs. One I’ll never forget reminded me of the gift sobriety offers: “We are sure God wants us to be happy, joyous, and free” (Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 133).
For years, I chased happiness in all the wrong places—alcohol, drugs, people, possessions, titles, awards, and control. But none of it set me free; it only chained me tighter to a life fueled by ego.
Recovery taught me that true happiness isn’t found in self-indulgence but in surrender.
Joy comes not from getting what I want, but from being grateful for what I have.
Freedom isn’t the absence of responsibility—it’s the result of giving my will and my life over to God’s care a day at a time.
Soul Search
Where am I still looking for happiness and joy in the wrong places? What would it look like for me to embrace God’s definition of freedom today?
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” —2 Corinthians 3:17
P.E.A.C.E.
Jay@EagleLaunch.com
