People often call and ask advice on how to handle a loved one with a drinking problem.

My suggestion is that they immediately do a family intervention and confront the person with the problem. I’m continually amazed how productive family interventions are when those involved agree to be honest.

Over the years, I’ve conducted many interventions. The person who is usually responsible for getting the family together always asks the same question, “What can we expect when we get together?”

My answer is always the same: “I really don’t know.”

The intervention is always started with the members holding hands, and I pray for the Holy Spirit to take control. He never fails.

That doesn’t mean that the person the family’s concerned about will seek help and be delivered from his or her addiction, but some members will realize and be at peace that they have no control of the situation and turn it over to God.

My personal experience is that alcohol is a cunning, baffling and powerful drug. For all the reasons people drink, the results are always just the opposite.

We drank for happiness and became unhappy.

We drank for joy and became miserable. 

We drank for sociability and became argumentative.

We drank for friendship and made enemies.

We drank for sophistication and became obnoxious.

We drank for sleep and awakened without rest.

We drank for strength and felt weak.

We drank “medicinally” and acquired health problems.

We drank for relaxation and got the shakes.

We drank for bravery and became afraid.

We drank for confidence and became doubtful.

We drank for freedom and became slaves.

We drank to make conversation and slurred our speech.

We drank to feel heavenly and ended up feeling like hell.

We drank to forget and were forever haunted.

We drank to erase problems and saw them multiply.

We drank to cope with life and invited death.

                                                                — author unknown    

If you have any questions or comments, please write Harold Keller at Get High on Life, P.O. Drawer U, Reserve, LA 70084; call 985-652-8477 or e-mail hkeller@comcast.net.