When I first walked through the doors of Alcoholics Anonymous I
had no idea what to expect. Quickly, I was able to see what worked in
others, a belief in and dependence upon God. As Bill once said "would I
have it? Of course I would."
The Sixth Step Of
AA is "we were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of
character." We have learned through the program of Alcoholics Anonymous
that alcohol is but a symptom of our true malady, our true malady is
self centered fear, afraid that we are not going to get what we want,
afraid that we are going to lose what we have. Once our fear is
triggered we reach for our character defects in an attempt to satiate
our human instincts. The dictionary defines defect "as the lack of
something necessary for completion or perfection."
We learned in the Fourth Step that we needed to find out what is it
about us that is keeping the grace of God from our lives. It is there
that we discover the exact nature of our wrongs as we made a list of our
defects. In the Fifth Step we confessed our character defects. Now in
the Sixth Step we are entirely ready and willing to have these defects
removed. Again it is my character defects that are keeping me from the
perfection of God, from becoming the human being God created me to be,
instead of a person that is self centered and selfish who cares only for
their human desires and what they think they need in life. A person
who is willing to use almost any means necessary to fulfill their
desires.
With all of our human flaws we BECOME
THE BEING GOD CREATED us to be when we turn from our human nature and
surrender to the will of God.
I discovered in AA that my character defects are the exact of who I am. These defects exist in my human nature which is the lower version of me as personified by my alcoholism. These defects, led by an all-encompassing fear must go. But they will only go if I let go. In letting go, I, for the first time, began to feel the presence of something real in me, something natural to me. I began to find the higher version of me which I now define as the Presence of The Power Within me. In this only-reality-there-is, I get to share the mind of God through Inspiration - His thoughts implanted into my mind and soul. Thus, by incorporating The Twelve Steps into my life, I have become aware of the higher version of me - the being I was created to be, know and love. This is The Ultimate Gift of sobriety.
ReplyDeleteMichael Through the actual program of Alcoholics Anonymous we have the opportunity to become the human being that God created us to be. An opportunity to maximize our human nature so that through the service to all those about us we establish relationships in our life which allows us to experience life as it was meant to be...Thank you so much...Armand
ReplyDeleteShould have read that my defects are "the exact opposite" of who I am.
ReplyDeleteLiving life as an active alcoholic , being totally self absorbed, full of self centered fear it was impossible to have relationships .
ReplyDeleteNothing but mayhem , pandemonium , and madness was brought into my situations everywhere I went. No one was exempt. Even God Almighty was way down the ladder in my life . I was the consummate director of life, my own and everyone who engaged with me in every situation comprehensible ! Nobody could tell me anything. In all reality I suffered from the two "N" syndrome .
I knew nothing . I was an ignoramus through and through. Very much the opposite of God's intention for me . In order to transform into the actor God intended for me to be a psychic change had to occur . But how was this to happen. First and forth most. Was I at a point of total defeat. Defeated by my own doing ? Has enough happened to me ? You bet it did. I couldn't stand it anymore !
I had to totally , unconditionally surrender . I turned to A.A. And was told to keep coming around . I did, many times I started to feel better physically, and mentally. There was still a void, I wasn't whole, due to the hole that was in need of my spirit, as a result of these 12steps I came to recognize spiritual experiences in my life.
They were always there but I was never able to recognize them .
The psychic change became a reality, The Holy Spirit filled me and directed my life in ways I never could of imagined "I was blind but now I can see ." I'm becoming the man that God intends for me to be ! Transforming by inspiration from God Almighty . Not by my corrupted and warped instincts of fear in my human nature !
Thank you Lord , thank you Jesus Christ , The Truth , The Light ,and The Way ! The true being God created, my relationship with Him is of the utmost importance ! Being that being that God intended
Don Peace can come to each and everyone of us when we surrender to the will of God and live the life He intended for us...Thank you for sharing your experience...Armand
ReplyDelete