The former client called to say that he was throwing up blood, and living on the river bottom. He had called, desperate for help. The manager who had taken the call asked what we should do.

"I think we should take him back in," I told him. "After all, we owe him." There was silence on the other end of the phone after I said this. Finally the manager spoke.

"I'm not sure I heard you right," the manager responded. "We owe this guy?"

"Yes," I told him, "he helped us stay sober today."

Several days earlier the caller had been sober for nearly a year. And after just a few days of drinking he was calling, once more wanting help. And our policy is generally to help people in that situation. Our belief is that maybe this time they will make it. It says in the literature that if we think we can use we should try it out and see how it works. If it works we don't have a problem. If that doesn't work then were pretty sure that we can't successfully drink or drug anymore.

I then went on to explain to my manager that when people relapse and tell us it didn't work for them it helps us to stay sober for another day. A benefit of working in a recovery program is that we see examples all the time that we can use in our own lives. This man's story is just one of many.

The same day we were blessed with a similar call from a man who has relapsed over and over. This man had left during the summer, deciding he didn't need our help any longer. He called to say that he was afraid that if he didn't get help he was going to die. He was living in his car at a local park, shooting heroin every day.

The lesson I always derive from stories like this is that if were are real addicts and alcoholics we can never successfully use again.

The lesson helped me today.