As I began the fourth step of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous I faced the four column inventory of my resentments, fears and sexual conduct. My sponsor suggested that I begin to pray for and forgive all of those on all of my lists. In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous there is a prayer for each of these lists - three prayers in total.The Eighth Step of Alcoholics Anonymous, "Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all," is yet another chance to pray for and forgive all those on all of my lists and to begin doing the same with any new situations that may arise. We are already in possession of an Eighth Step list - extracted from our Fourth Step inventory. As we begin to pray for and forgive we are also making a beginning on Steps Eleven and Twelve.
Prayer and forgiveness are essential tools if we are to recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body We learned in the Fourth Step that resentments toward others is the number one offender to a relationship with God, as we are called to love all, although we are never to be accepting of evil.
The Eighth Step provides for us ANOTHER CHANCE TO PRAY FOR AND TO FORGIVE all those on our lists. This is necessary in order to bring the Spirit into our Ninth Step amends.
Written by Armand
This Comment Is from A gratefully Recovering Alcoholic
ReplyDeleteArmand,
Having received complete forgiveness at the feet of the Father of Light through Steps 4 and 5 we are now given the incredible opportunity to become a partaker of the infinite mercy and love that God has, not just for us, but for all of his creation. We ponder the gateway found in the Lords Prayer " And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others who have trespassed against us."
We have made a decision to identify and relinquish the primitive survivor skills that we once believed were absolutely necessary to sustain our existence. We have discovered we have never possessed even a wisp of the personal power to overcome our willfulness. We have humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. It is here that we rediscover deeply held resentments we have used in the past as justification for our malignant attitudes and actions which now must be rooted up and exposed to the continuous cleansing power of Gods light, love and grace. As we prayerfully continue to review our past encounters we come to understand that many with whom we hold a grudge were merely acting in kind in order to avoid their own desperately fearful demise.
We can now begin to experience true empathy and forgiveness towards those once perceived to be our "enemy," and as we separate their desperate actions from their wounded personhood we can now pray rightly for them to receive the freedom and peace of an eternal relationship with our, and their, loving Father. Now we begin to become partakers in the ministry of healing that God always intends to provide to His children as He seeks to heal the last scars that we, in our selfishness, had carved into the fragile spirits of so many lives.
It is in forgiving others as we have been forgiven where we truly begin to apprehend the fullness, depth and all encompassing expanse of God's personnel forgiveness of our own faults, failures and sins. It is here, as we begin to make ready to share God's all forgiving love with those whom we have harmed and those who have harmed us, that the first page of the formally unfathomable personal love, that is the essence of His being, begins to be revealed.
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic God has not only forgiven the sins I have committed but also the sins I have yet to commit. Live a life in the will of God and experience forgiveness of others...Thank you...Armand
DeleteArmand,
DeleteThanks for your kind words. We are blessed indeed!
Over my years in AA, I've found relief for myself by relieving myself of the choking smoke of justification and resentment which pervaded and corroded my thinking. That process is one of forgiveness. Mark Twain called forgiveness "the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that had crushed it." As we learn in Step Eight, relationships were impossible for us as active alcoholics. The very fact that I was part of a relationship meant that it was a defective one. It was only by incorporating all Twelve Steps into my life until they became the basis for my life that I was able to love myself enough to love you - the key to successful relationships. Loving you is rooted in forgiveness for everything and everyone with no exceptions and no matter what. Loving you enough to give myself away.
ReplyDeleteMichael Loved when you wrote 'love myself enough to love you." The good Lord tells us that we can't pick and choose who is the receiver of the love that flows through us from the Lord...Thank you...Armand
DeleteI am so disconnected right now, I have become a relapser. Alcohol has robbed me of the emotions that allow me to search for forgiveness for what I have done to others. I am optimistic, I will get back into the program but what else is there but to surrender, when a chemical, a liquid, a forces, has such a control of me. I am an empty vessel, going through existence. I have to never forget how baffling and powerful alcohol truly is.
ReplyDeletePaul Great to have you back..place your energy in the solution and trust in God...thank you...Armand
Delete