MINNEAPOLIS. Minneapolis resident celebrates two-year commitment to sobriety through the arts.
Matt Moberg says that the road is not easy, but the difficult road has led to great achievements and discoveries.
“Thank you,” he said. "Another day, another chance to go out there and try to get better."
Moberg is married and has three children. He also serves as the pastor of the South Minneapolis Church at The Table and assistant chaplain to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He is also a musician. However, a few years ago everything became too much.
"You are Superman," he said. “You have the ability, you can be everywhere at the same time and be the answer to all questions, but I can’t. It was too destructive for me to lie about who I am."
Like, this thought always made him drink.
“Things got really bad,” he said. "I mean, people don't know."
She struggled, knowing she needed help but not knowing how to get it.
“I was driving home from the city center and had a lot to drink,” he said. “I thought I was going to have an accident, or the police would pull me over and go to rehab, or I would be forced to change something.”
However, there was no danger or police to stop him, but there were three small children at home who looked up to him as a role model.
“If I have to drink to be a good father in general, I try not to be,” he said. "I think it's not good, it's great."
He began attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and, on the advice of a therapist, was introduced to the arts.
“It's protection,” he said. “That's how I'm sure I'll never go back. Partly it's because I'm not on stage. I don't have a guitar with me, I don't have a stage in front of me, I don't need to be anyone. – Can you go up the stairs? It's just like that.
He is a self-taught artist who dedicates time to his art almost every day and finds joy in his brushstrokes.
“With every frame, I tried to think of the greatest gift that I dreamed about today,” he said. “The beauty is that it takes a lot of strokes to create a big picture.”
He said that every colorful creation gives meaning.
“It keeps me alive,” he said. "I'll be healthy."
He now sells his pieces on his website and has also worked for the Timberwolves, including a City Edition T-shirt released this season. But with success comes failure. Moberg has relapsed twice in recent years, most recently last summer when his wife Lauren found him unconscious on the floor and had to call 911.
“I remember the smell of the hospital,” he said. “I remember seeing her and saying, 'I don't know why I'm here.
Moberg said that with every relapse, there is a chance for recovery.
"For me, the idea of 'I'm falling face down, but I can get up' is very powerful," he said.
It has been more than nine months since his last relapse. He said it was the longest time he had been sober.
“Now I feel very good,” he said.
Art continues to be his constant and a way to stop his thoughts. He said he hoped it would be a reminder to others that things aren't always black and white and that every piece is progress, not perfection.
"It's not over yet." "This will be my number one message."
He said he hopes his story will inspire others who are fighting for their lives and that every day will be an opportunity to keep fighting.
“Life is a gift, and the most important thing is love, and the more you try to transcend yourself, the more you lose that gift,” he said.
April is Alcoholism Awareness Month, an opportunity to help break the stigma associated with alcoholism and encourage treatment for those struggling with it.
Click here for more information on alcoholism resources.