On May 25th, 1983, at 2 a.m. I was driving  90 mph down 4th Street in Hattiesburg, MS with my car lights off and three police cars in pursuit with their blue lights on. I got a DUI that night. Surprisingly-- other than my marriage and the birth of my two children--  it was the absolute best thing that has ever happened to me. I haven't had a drink of alcohol, or anything stronger than an aspirin since that night.

Days later, I ended up in rehab in Jackson and a halfway house in Omaha, Nebraska. They were both lifesavers. 

I wish that-- as a 21-year old, early in recovery-- someone would have asked me to make a list. A simple list where I dreamed big of all of the best things I hoped to get out of life going forward. I would love to be able to look at that list 21-year old Robert created in 1983, today. Mainly because I would have so undershot what life has given me. 

I'm not talking about material things and monetary things, but relational and spiritual things. The things in life that truly matter. Life is good. It's not without problems and hardships, but I know how to handle those things and do my best to live in the solution, every day. 

I have always believed that life is problems. A successful life is problems well handled. In the end, I have to give credit where credit is due, and that's with God, a few basic principles, and all my friends who are also in recovery.

If you're having trouble with alcohol or drugs, you need to know that there is a solution, and a better life out there. I am free to talk anytime, day or night, 601-270-7129. 

If you are early in recovery, sit down, and make a list of all of the things you want out of life. Dream big. Seriously, dream bigger than you could ever imagine. Then fold up the list, place it in a drawer, and just don't drink. Then pull that letter out in five, 10, maybe even 37 years, and I guarantee that you, too, would have grossly undershot what life would have gifted you.

God can, and will, if God is sought.

-Robert St. John