What a beautiful program Alcoholics Anonymous is. Not only does it relieve our uncontrollable use of alcohol but is applicable to each and every problem in our lives.We come to A A because we desire to stop drinking alcohol and are unable to do so on our own. Alcohol severely impacts our lives, our minds, and our bodies. We discover through the program of Alcoholics Anonymous that alcohol, of itself, is not and was not the problem - it is but a symptom of the problem. The real problem with us as alcoholics (and addicts of any and all types) is self-centered fear. We are afraid we will not get what we want... and afraid to lose what we have.
When any of our human instincts are threatened we overreact until we make the decision in the Third Step of the program to turn our thoughts and our actions over to the care of God. Once we do this we are on our way to a serene and peaceful life. The integration of the remaining steps into our lives leads us to a life in which we are praying and meditating on a daily basis. When praying we ask only for the knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out. Remaining in that present state of mind, in the will of God, we do not drink. In God's hands all of our problems are solved.
God is the solution to the real problem. Once we are in His will we do not overreact when we think that our human instincts are threatened as we are trusting in His safety and serenity. May you find Him and his comfort now.
Written By Armand
Fear exists in my human-only nature. It is manifested in my behavior and unrelieved by any thought process or act of my will. As the real problem, it can be answered only by the Real Solution - The Power Within me. That Power has been awakened within me only by integrating all Twelve Steps into my life in such a way that my life is no longer threatened by my mind and ruined by my behavior. As you point out, I now have the know gift of trusting in His security and safety. And limitless love.
ReplyDeleteMichael a life lived in the present by trusting in God is free of the crippling fear that dominated our thoughts...Thank you...Armand
DeleteThanks for Sharing Armand,
ReplyDeleteSelf centered fear and pride, together with covetousness exquisitely describe the motive force that propels every person who is absolutely inwardly convinced that the entire known universe was uniquely and exclusively created just for them. Yet, a casual glance at the world at large confirms that these regrettable characteristics are not the exclusive estate of the Alcoholic mind. Even the most sober minded and spiritual among us at times suffer the cravings of misdirected appetites and any denial of our true condition is the primal delusion that must be rooted out and tossed into the pit from which it originated for it is a core spiritual state that cannot even be recognized, let alone overcome, without Devine intervention. One of the greatest saints who ever lived wrote of this nearly 2000 years ago and I'll defer to the problem he identified and the solution he discovered and discloses in Romans 7: 14 - 24
"We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
This gratefully recovering alcoholic has painfully proven in the past that even when I inwardly agreed that the course I choose will ultimately lead to self destruction I would still "throw the dice" as my appetites demand hoping for a better outcome and that, my friend, is insanity... Simple knowledge of my condition is of no avail until I fully accepted that I'm completely, utterly and constitutionally incapable of overcoming my own willful nature and, any self powered effort in that direction is tantamount to placing a hair net over the space shuttle with the expectation of preventing the launch.
And so I start each day with this prayer; Dear Lord Jesus, I respond now to Your invitation. You have called me to place into Your capable hands the trials and tribulations within me and about me. Help me to turn my cares over to You, and to rest in the assurance that Your solutions are greater than my problems. Give me a clear head and a trusting heart as I press onward on the path You have clearly marked before me. You are the only one who can enter the tomb to breathe life into the fetid state of a long dead soul and provide a Damascus Road meeting with You, the Author of Light. Help me to continually uncover the peace, serenity and assurance that is the immutable fabric of a life lived in the arms of You through sure knowledge of your presence my true Savior and Lord.
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic not able to do what it is that we know we should do and doing that which we know we shouldn't do and don't want to do is the manifestation of Alcoholism in our behavior...Thank you...Armand
ReplyDeleteArmand,
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon.
All I wanted to do was stop drinking and using drugs. It took a lot of years to accomplish that. Yes, I tried many different methods. One of the big ones was the "geographical cure." I thought that by running to the Sunshine State I would exercise, swim and run everyday. I did all of those things, for a time. But then the day came when I woke up. No matter were I traveled to, Sid was still there.
I came to Alcoholics Anonymous like a lost sheep. I had nowhere else to go. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I stopped drinking! I stopped drugging! And in time, I found out what the real problem was in my life. It was me. No one forced me to use. I just did it because I was always running away. Away from the destruction I had caused to others. Working the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous have taken me to a place beyond my wildest dreams. Alcoholics Anonymous has taught me that my drinking was only a symptom of my deeper troubles. The 7th & 11th Step help me on a daily basis to deal with those troubles. Today,,I won't pickup a drink and I will definitely try my best not to hurt anyone.
Thanks
Sid P
Sid no where else to go but to AA was true for me also. Thank God for that...Thank you...Armand
ReplyDelete