Liquid courage.
Liquid courage leads to leaky ways.
As a young boy I often found myself sitting on a bar stool in a dingy tavern as my dad threw back bottle after bottle of beer.
The more he drank the louder he became. The louder he became the more likely the night would end in a bar fight.
More than once I experienced front row seats as a ringside spectator to an all out brawl.
Sometimes my dad would come out on top, other times he would stumble to the car, toss me the keys as he was passing out and then tell me to keep my eyes on the yellow line of the highway in order to get us safely home.
It was quite the adventure for a ten year old boy who could barely see over the steering wheel as he strained to point his toes toward the gas pedal of an old Ford Galaxy 500.
The windy road led us home. He usually slept it off in the backseat as I made my way to the security of my twin bed in the room I shared with my younger brother.
If we were lucky, he would wake up throwing up his guts near dawn. If things turned for worse, he would drag himself into the house, and as if he heard the sound of the boxing ring bell, he would find a reason to lay into my mother like he had with his so-called bar buddy. Either way, it was hell.
My dad has passed now. We all survived his bout with alcohol and us. It was rough. The memories were bad. And the outcome? We were nothing short of living miracles, we made it through!
Proverbs 20:1 serves as a great reminder to the potential alcohol has for inviting trouble. “Wine produces mockers; alcohol leads to brawls. Those led astray by drink cannot be wise.”
My experience with liquid courage has caused me to become a teetotaler. For me, it’s just not worth the risk. No one knows the point at which a cucumber becomes a pickle. Until someone can tell me when a drinker becomes a drunk, I will be leaving an empty seat open at the bar.
That yellow line remains vivid in my mind. To this day I do all I can not to cross it. Liquid courage and the yellow line don’t mix. Living and driving sober has served me well. The courage I find comes from a much higher power!
