I believe I am sober and alive for only one reason. God has a job for me to do. I have also come to believe that I must please God first, myself second, and everybody else third. (I know this sounds self-centered, but it’s not. How can we care for or love others until we first learn to take care of and love ourselves?) When I can live and feel this way — and it isn’t all day, every day — things seem to work out for the best. When I try to run the show, everything falls apart.