Here's a couple of things I do to maintain my sobriety.

     Coming to the end of the year and the end of my probation has caused me to reflect on where I'm at today.  This last year has been blessed, again, and I am very thankful for all that I have.  God has been very good to the Mason family and to me in particular.

     So, most of you know my story of twenty plus years of addiction to drugs.  I've currently got over 16 months of sobriety from cocaine and while that may not seem like a long time to some, it is a lifetime to me as I was using a large amount of drugs everyday, for many years.

     How am I able to have sobriety?  It didn't happen in my own power.  I couldn't stop using even when I wanted to.  I quit using so many times that I quit quitting.  Finally, I got arrested.  Some of you may think that was an inevitability, but that is not the case.  I know it to be Divine Intervention.  There are many drug users who have never been arrested before, but they are also not living.  That's the inevitability.  Thankfully, God had other plans for my life because my plans were leading to my premature death.

     Today, I live life free from ANY bondage.  My sobriety is a by-product of my love for Jesus Christ.  I've consciously made a decision to follow Him and be guided by Him.  Do you know where He has led me?  Out of addiction and into life.  Everywhere I go, Jesus is with me.  He's here as I write this.  He goes to school with me.  He goes to all the meetings I go to, which by the way, I don't have to go to but I do anyways because when I get there, Jesus is there.  How do I know He's there?  Because when I get there, I'm happy to be there.  I have a gladness in my heart when I arrive, everywhere I go, even jail, and I'm smart enough to know that is the supernatural Anointing that allows me to have joy wherever I go.

     Now to give you what you came here for.  How I maintain my sobriety.  First, I stay close to Jesus Christ by watching a lot of Christian programming like Creflo Dollar, Joyce Meyer, Andrew Wommack, Dr. Charles Stanley to name a few.  I also read Scripture and daily devotionals and I am constantly giving praise and thanks for all God is doing in my life.  Second, I go to meetings.  I go to meetings without expectations.  Do you know that sometimes your presence at a meeting isn't so you can get something out of it, but rather so someone can get inspiration from you.  Third, I have tested this old saying and know that it is truth:  If you want something different, you've got to do something different!  In my case, I went back to college, which, not by coincidence, I've been at for 15 months which is approximately the same amount of time I have sober.

     There are other things I've done also, but those three are the ones that have made the difference in my life.  If you want sobriety, you can have it!