The addiction recovery group at my church has dubbed itself “Sober Eyes.” It was started by a recovering addict. He knew other addicts who wanted to recover and gathered them together. The moderator is a church member who is an AODA counselor. Our pastor sits in, not to force religion on anyone but to respond to spiritual questions that may come up. Spiritual questions always come up because addicts need a power greater than their own in order to recover. Every Sunday night, a handful of young adults shows up at group, where they are honest with each other and help each other see the world through sober eyes. Some of them have come to Bible classes and worship services. The rest of us welcome them and love on them. 

The rest of us are also recovering people. We all need support to see the world with sober eyes. “We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist.” Very little in life is crystal clear. It’s 50 shades of blurry because we suffer misery of body, mind, and spirit. We can lose perspective and lose hope. We need to be with other recovering people who trust steadily, hope unswervingly, and love extravagantly. They keep us going until “the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!” (1 Corinthians 13:12 MSG).