I like to think of the Tenth Step of the AA program as a hallway - a hallway that I must walk down in order to come into the room in which I can live with God. This hallway needs daily repair as the ceiling is leaking, there are holes in the walls and the floor is buckled. Fortunately, the program of Alcoholics Anonymous has given us an instructional manual so that we can pass through, although we may be encumbered at first.Another way to look at this is as if God is the light and my human defects are a clouded glass which no light can shine through. As I begin to incorporate the program of AA into my life and begin to develop a relationship with God, some of the glass clears and some of the light shines through. As I continue to incorporate the Twelve Steps into my life, the glass clears even more and even more of the light shines through. Finally, the day arrives when the glass is transparent and all of the light shines through and it is in this moment that I am one with God and free of the manifestation of my character defects.
Incorporate the Tenth Step into your daily existence and, eventually, into all your waking moments. We must be persistent. Persistence is the time between the promise of God and the provision of God. Thereafter, a life free of anxiety, fear and resentment can be experienced; cloaked in harmony, peace and serenity.
Written by Armand
The reading provides fascinating perspective for our daily reflection and inventory with Our Father.
ReplyDeleteAs you noted, persistence is the key to clearing the glass and fully allowing God's love to shine through our being as we become a channel of His spirit, bringing Heaven to earth.
"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them the light shined."
Thank you for your inspiration and enlightenment. It helped lead me to the basement stairwell and reach the warmth and peace found within the family room.
Anonymous loved when you wrote "become a channel of His Spirit, bringing heaven to earth." It is an opportunity given to us in each and every interaction with other human beings...Thank you...Armand
DeleteStep Ten tells us that we have entered the realm of the spirit. Our next function, The Big Book states, is "to grow in understanding and effectiveness." To me, that means that I must continue to do the daily work (inventory) whereby I will feel the elucidation of my spirit and incorporate that "light" into my life in all ways. In other words, Step Ten is the platform from which I will be enabled to receive the ultimate gift - the gift of self-love through the presence of The Power Within me. In the final analysis, that is what I seek. But that love must come from you and be shared with you. How? By incorporating all Twelve Steps into my life in a way that they become my life. Only in that manner am I enabled to find that which must be freely given away.
ReplyDeleteMichael many spiritual practices have self examination as a key to spiritual growth. The program of Alcoholics Anonymous is no different. it is through this practice that we learn that our surrender is not complete in the way that is necessary if we are to recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body...Thank you...Armand
DeleteThanks Armand,
ReplyDeleteThe preceding steps have born witness to my new birth into an eternal relationship with God. His name becomes foremost in my mind and heart as challenges of each day brings a deeper experience with His person. I am confident that I can lay anything at His feet with the absolute assurance that He will provide me with all that I need to continue to walk in His will. Step 10 is the inward call and practice of, discipleship. Having accepted this "call" I'm compelled to embrace the ongoing death of my old life through the resurrection and renewal of my newfound life in Christ. It is the only path to an ongoing discovery of the true reason why I was created, and as steps 11 and 12 make clear, implies multiplication.
This is truly where the rubber meets the road. For I cannot carry the message if I cannot or will not "continue to practice these principles in all my affairs" and step 10 clearly identifies my newfound conscience and desire to keep a very short list of my errant thoughts and offenses. However, if practiced one day at a time, in that innermost region of my heart, there is no greater way to obtain a continuous flow of God's grace.
Although I once bristled at the mere mention of His name I now fervently seek out the Author and Finisher of my faith. In Romans Chapters 7 and 8, St Paul, who shared the instant struggles of powerlessness in his own devoted life clearly explains this inward battle on "the road less traveled".
21" I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power* within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death."
A Grateful Recovering Alcoholic
A Grateful Recovering Alcoholic Self knowledge of my sinful nature and a desire not to live that way are never enough for me. It is only through the grace of God that I can live in the back half of Step 11 which says "praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out."...Thank you...Armand
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