My First AA Meeting

My good friend Rob just celebrated his 30th day of sobriety after joining AA, and he invited me to go and see him "take his chip."  This means that he received a small "chip" key ring that has a big "30" on it, that he can keep on his key chain to remind him of how far he's come. They give chips out at various milestones, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 1 yr, etc. Some of Rob's other friends were there as well, and it was so great to see how excited he was to have us there to witness this milestone. 

Rob recently gave his life to the Lord, and he's been coming to Crossroads with his friend Cody.  Rob is 42 years old, and actually knew Pastor Todd when they were young, as they both attended Grace Community Church.  Rob is more than six feet tall, he sports a clean-shaven head that is covered in tattoos, much like the rest of his body.  He wears huge spacer gauges in his ears so that you could easily fit a quarter inside, and he's got a six inch long goatee.  He is an artist, and practices at the local tattoo shop, and is currently pursuing some options in T-shirt airbrushing.

Rob has been a great example to me of what the Holy Spirit can do when we let him have control of our lives.  Rob has completely changed his life around, and though he still has some issues to work through (we all do right?), he has shown that he is a new creature in Christ, and that he wants to use his life experience and hardships to minister to others in his same position.

Love you Rob!