For the past twenty-nine years Jenny has been an RN at a inner city hospital. Furthermore she has also been teaching Sunday school at the local Baptist Church. In spite of the fact that she lived in a small rural community where it appeared like everybody knew everyone’s business, little if nothing was known about Jenny. It almost goes without saying that virtually everyone in town knew that she had worked more than a few years as a nurse practitioner and that she taught Sunday school for as long as she lived in their small town. Other than that, nevertheless, it almost appeared as if Jenny was merely a visitor in their town.
You can envisage the hubbub that took place when it was found out that one Sunday morning Jenny had passed out because of drinking and driving. Indeed, the article in the neighborhood weekly paper reported that Jenny not only passed out, but that she also was arrested for drunk driving because her blood alcohol content was substantially more than the legal limit for drunk driving. This is certainly one of the alcohol effects on the body that no Sunday school teacher wants to have announced to the entire community. But this is precisely what happened, much to the regret of Jenny.
Jenny Gets Very Discontented About Her Arrest for Drunk Driving
Obviously, Jenny was quite troubled about her drunk driving arrest. Not only should she have known better about driving while intoxicated because of her nursing job, but she also should have held herself accountable to a higher benchmark because of the straightforward fact that she taught Sunday school.
After her DUI arrest, Jenny thought about moving out of town so that she would not have to feel disturbed about her arrest and also so she wouldn’t have to justify her actions for the ten thousandth time to the other members of her community. After speaking with her pastor, however, she decided that she would get alcohol rehabilitation at a local drug and alcohol treatment hospital. She did this for two basic reasons. First, it was relatively easy for her to drive to a local counseling hospital. And second, she sincerely wanted the message to get disseminated among all the residents in the community that she was honestly dealing with her hazardous drinking.
Jenny Goes Through Alcohol Detoxification and Gets an Extensive Exam
After Jenny went through detox, she got completely examined by a physician at the alcohol rehab hospital. She then underwent a few lab procedures where it was determined that she was not alcohol dependent but rather was involving herself in alcohol abuse. In short Jenny was engaging in long term alcohol abuse.
Jenny was provided with the option of getting alcohol treatment as a residential patient or getting admitted as an outpatient. Jenny, nevertheless, felt that she could still work as a licensed practical nurse and continue with her Sunday school teaching position if she were to be admitted as an out-patient and this is specifically what she did.
According to her counseling game plan, Jenny went to two sessions twice per month, she learned more than a little about alcohol info, she worked on her out-of-class “duties,” she got counseling for her depression and other mental health issues, and she learned how to involve herself doing things in life without having anything to do with drinking.
After eight weeks, Jenny thought that her abusive and careless drinking was under control and so she got released from the drug and alcohol rehab hospital under the provision that she would return for a refresher course once every two months for the next nine months. Jenny signed an agreement form and followed through on her “promise.”
Jenny Finally Determines to Stay Away From All Drinking Situations and Finds Out That Her Self Worth Gets Stronger
After she finished her rehab Jenny felt that she would be able to drink more responsibly than before. After pondering her situation for a short while, then again, she decided that she would absolutely abstain from any and all drinking situations.
When Jenny arrived at this conclusion, she learned that her self-respect increased the more she was in command of her life. And as her self-respect became more enhanced, it appeared that she became more outgoing and started attending more community events such as strawberry festivals, Christmas tree lighting ceremonies, music festivals, flower festivals, carnivals, local high school football and basketball games, and rib roasts.
Jenny Addresses Her Irresponsible and Hazardous Drinking, Comes to a Decision To Do Something Positive About It, and Rediscovers Her Faith
Over time, the people in the town demonstrated more compassion for Jenny because she was interacting with them more frequently and also because she faced her hazardous drinking and did something productive about it. It may have been her imagination, but it also seemed as if her Sunday school pupils showed more admiration and high regard for her.
Jenny is a living example of an individual who had a critical issue and who did something beneficial about it. She is also a person who discovered that her religious faith is not only something that is private, but that it is also something that affects the way in which a person interrelates with other individuals.