The Twenty-five Touches Touches

How people led me to Jesus

By

Gerard LaPre'

Foreword: Alcoholism

This is the true story of the devastating effect alcoholism has had on my family. In the LaPre' family, alcoholism is a multigenerational disease. My paternal grandfather died from it. My father drank into his early sixties. Fortunately, he was sober the last 28 years of his life. His sister and youngest brother also died from alcoholism. Family members of my generation have been deeply affected by it, and some have also succumbed to the ravages of alcoholism. Other members of my family are what are euphemistically called "functional" alcoholics.

My oldest nephew and my oldest niece have nearly destroyed their lives with alcohol abuse. My nephew, Dave, with the assistance of my father, Dave's grandfather, was able to conquer alcohol and thus save his marriage. Donna, my niece, has been less successful in her ongoing struggle with alcohol. Some of my cousins have sons and daughters who have gone through similar experiences with alcohol.

So what? Big deal. Other families have gone through similar negative experiences with alcohol. I know that is true. I write this not as a condemnation of my family, but as a plea to people in families today to get the help they need to reclaim their physical, emotional, and spiritual health they need to become whole again. Alcoholism robbed me of a normal childhood.

But hope is available. I am a retired teacher, not a trained professional counselor. All I know is what alcoholism did to my family and me, but when I was growing up in the 1950's and 1960's, very little help was available. Alcoholism was considered a character weakness, not the devastating disease we know it to be today. Unfortunately, for the alcoholics themselves, all help is ineffective until they admit there is a problem. But for every alcoholic there are probably six to ten people who are affected by the disease. Family members, friends, colleagues of the alcoholic all carry a tremendous burden. These are the people for whom I am writing this.

Today, help is readily accessible. Alcoholics Anonymous is a wonderful organization. One of the main reasons it is so successful is that its program stresses turning your life over to a Higher Power. Now I know in our pluralistic society, "god" means many things to many people. To my father and his alcoholic friends, it meant Jesus, and that's what it means to me.

I am not an alcoholic, but Jesus has helped me overcome many obstacles in my own life: emotional abuse and neglect, lack of self-esteem, my own struggles with alcohol, two chronic diseases and countless others. A. A. helps the alcoholic, but it also has programs called Alanon and Alateen for family members living with an alcoholic. Students can contact school counselors and other community organizations for help. As a teacher, I often shared my story with students in the hope that it would inspire them to get help, if they were in a similar situation.

My struggle in dealing with an alcoholic family finally became easier once I turned over my burden to Jesus. I wish I had made this decision at much younger age, but it still brought me a peace I had never known before. Although I still have emotional struggles, I know that with Jesus in my life all obstacles can be overcome.

If you're dealing with an alcoholic, don't despair. Be proactive, not reactive. Alcoholics will almost always do something outrageous just to see how people react. Don't play their game. Get help. Now. Please. And don't forget Jesus.