BANG!!!! This is the shot that rang out when I was 5 or 6 years old that was the beginning of a life filled with near misses. The bullet grazed my head and I would live to see another day. This was the first recognizable event in my life that I could put my finger on that God was looking out for me. I was a young boy playing with some kids whose father worked as a police officer.  One of the kids discovered their father’s gun while we were playing. This was not the last time that I was spared death through this journey. This was not the last time in my life that a gun would be pointed at my head. It was the last time that a gun pointed at my head was done so unintentionally.   There was some force that was looking over me and protecting me. I had no idea at such a young age who God was, or that he had a plan for my life. I had no idea that my life would be filled with turmoil and then evolve into such a happy existence.
This is my life story. These are the events that have occurred in my life. These are the lessons and spiritual events that have occurred and how these lessons were applied to lift this feeling of impending doom.
The remarkable thing about this journey is that today I can look back and see how the wonders of God have been there for me and to guide me to the place where I am today. During this journey homelessness and multiple addictions the God of my understanding has often carried me and pushed me in the right direction. The pushing part was painful, but necessary for someone who who thought he was in control.
 There are still events that I can not explain.  Why these things have happened other than to try and help get an egomaniac learn some humility and gratefulness about his existence.

 If we look for the miracles and special events we will find them no matter the degree in which we have fallen or the heights in which we have risen. I have made a chose to recognize that there is a loving God who has done some cool stuff in my life that is worth sharing about. We will all have times in our life when life doesn’t seem fair. There will be times when hope and love will be as if they are so far from reach that we give up on the idea of good things and love could never enter into their lives.
It is truly by the Grace of God and the members of Alcoholics Anonymous that I am able to sit here and chronicle the events of my life. It has been the events in my life and principles of AA that have made me the person that I am today. If I had the opportunity to re-live my life again I wouldn’t change a thing if I knew that I would be in the same place that I am at today.  Every event was necessary for me to learn. Every thing that was done to me and I did to other people was necessary for me to learn the lessons and gain the humility and perspective that I have today. Today I am happy joyous and free.
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Maybe you will be able to identify with my events and God moments and any feelings of loneliness and uniqueness will start to diminish and some hope and desire to make some changes will become sparked long enough to get started on your own personal journey. The journey has already been laid out for each of us. The God of your understanding is as valid as any other God. We just need acknowledge that there is something out there that is in control of our lives and loves us despite our mistakes.  I hope you will see my mistakes and understand your God has forgiven you already, now just forgive yourself.
  Everyone has their own journey and purpose for being here.  They joy for me today is the seeking of the purpose of my life.  The joy and pleasure is in the journey. There are times during the journey when I will have an awakening of sorts.  I call it an “AHH” moment.  It feels as if just for that very moment that I have a glimpse of God’s will and would say to myself“AHH I get it”
 These events that I will describe are unique and special.  They are unique only because they occurred in my life.  Every person’s life is unique.  They are made up of unique events that are different from all other people in this world. These are merely my experiences and that’s all that makes it unique.  It does not in anyway mean that I am more deserving of blessings than anyone reading this book. I’m not unique, just the events. I am just a human. And I have all the same characteristics as any other human. I get lonely, tired, jealous, angry and all the other feelings. That sounds simple today for me to admit, but trust me it took a while for me grasp that concept. I knew I was unique. I’m not kidding.