We admitted complete defeat; we put our absolute trust in God; we made
a decision for our thought process to be propelled by the will of God
and not by our human instinct; we asked God to remove anything and
everything objectionable from us; we made our amends; we learned through
the program of Alcoholics Anonymous and through our life experiences
that we must pray and meditate daily. Now, through the grace of God, we
are living in this moment in His will and are the very living example of
the power of the program of AA. This has and will occur for all of us
in whom the Spirit has been awakened. Once the Spirit has been awakened
we are then given the power to help others, not only through our words
but more importantly, through our behavior. We are acutely aware that in
our quest to help others we cannot possibly give away that which we
don't have.
As a result of integrating into our lives the program of
Alcoholics Anonymous, we are given the power to help others. It is a
wondrous event to see others live AN AWAKENED LIFE. We experience a
fulfillment in our own lives as we watch them recover into loving and
giving human beings.
Written by Armand
Edited by Caitlin Alexandra
In The Tenth Step, I learned that my next function was to grow in understanding and effectiveness. For me, that came about and continues to evolve through Awareness. I am now aware of the effect of each Step in my life, exactly as you've iterated herein. In a way, I began to understand precisely what has occurred in my life. That Awareness has led to an Awakening - an Awakening of my Spirit now touched in all ways by The Power Within me. I'm convinced that I drank because my spirit was dead - the one and only real reason. I sought out spirits to awaken my spirit. Disaster ensued. Through the guidance of a knowing Big Book teaching sponsor, The Twelve Steps began to infuse me with understanding and to awaken me to The Power Within. Today, I am a more effective person in every way. My greatest joy comes from freely giving all that is within me away. That, to me, is the essence of an Awakened Life. For which I am forever grateful.
ReplyDeleteMichael thank you for sharing your enlightened experience. When the Spirit has awakened within us we are then aware of God's will for us. By living in the will of God we then become the human being that God created us to be thereby maximizing our human potential or as you wrote "I am a more effective person."...Thank you...Armand
DeleteThis Comment Is From A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic
ReplyDeleteAs I've written before, the discovery that I no longer fear the loss of the life once lived, now cast, like so much refuse into the pail of sinful actions forgiven and forgotten, is due to the direct intervention of the Creator of all who is and was and evermore will be.... It was He alone, who had been walking beside me all along, even during the most depraved events of my prodigal journey. It was He alone, who initiated this inexplicable shift in paradigm. It is He Alone, who continues to remind me that my animal appetites need no longer be sated. It is He alone, who has caused my fleshly desires to loose their allure. It is He alone, who has caused this obsession for all things harmful to be removed. And, it is He alone, who has placed within me a steadily growing all consuming fire and unquenchable desire to drink at the Masters well and frequent visits to the mercy seat of the One who refines in the fire of His love.
It is a miracle... For no other word is sufficient to describe this unspeakably holy and undeserved gift, entirely unwrapped by His hand and placed in the hearts of all who receive Him in the freedom and joy of His Presence. None of this has directly occurred as a result of anything I brought to the table. In fact, it occurred despite what I brought in my previously destitute stupefied state.
My spirit has not so much been awakened but revived, for I was in every way a pile of bleached and brittle bones scattered in an endless desert, only to be revived by His Holy Spirit who now resides within me. It was only then that I discovered that the One who pursues with a love beyond telling and a determination that never wavers, came for one purpose, "To seek and to save those who are lost."
In the 29 years I've been in the program I've witnessed many "movements" attempt to nip at the pages of the 12 Steps of AA. All are based on some form of mere human pedagogy that seeks to place the student on the Throne and the Teacher at their feet. All in order to avoid the simple program directly taken from the greatest story ever told, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I too was one such as this until every last vestige of self worship and pride finally brought me to my knees before the One true and Eternal Provider of true love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
His prayer, as always, is that all who hunger and thirst will find Him. He loves us all just the way we are and waits patiently at the door of our heart. He's as close as the mention of His name. Jesus, The Consolation Of Israel, The Desire of All Nations, The Author And Finisher Of Our Faith, The Alpha And Omega, The Lamb Who Was Slain, The Lion Who Reigns, The Anointed One, The Bread Of Life, The Everlasting Father, The Cornerstone, The Capstone, The Holy One, The King Of Kings, Lord Of Lords, The Christ!
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic without the grace of God we would be spending our time in an attempt to satiate all our human desire. Through the integration of the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous we are able to receive that which we didn't desire, His grace. ...Thank you ...Armand
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