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 10th step gives me awareness, insight, helping me grow closer to God. I pause, I accept, I release and restore.
ReplyDeleteIt is a practice of learning to pause, to connect and to change. I can be guided into a place where I am able to find contentment live more in the present with a deeper level of inner peace and clarity.
Jessica if we use 10 often there is no need to do another 4th...Thank you...Armand
ReplyDeleteThe Tenth Step is a practical way by which to live my life in the world of the spirit. Its unique platform enables me to grow in Understanding and Effectiveness. However, I must exercise caution in my daily behavior while remaining avid in my commitment. I am advised not to rest on my laurels, as alcohol is a subtle foe. To me, that means that alcohol is infinitely patient while possessing no thinking apparatus. I, on the other hand, am troubled by both. Thus, I must take Step Ten in increments with critical junctures like neutrality and restraint. Love and tolerance of others becomes our code. The Tenth Step promises that the problem will be removed; it will no longer exist for us. For that to occur,I must integrate all Twelve Steps into my life. In such a way that they become my life.
ReplyDeleteMichael a daily Inventory allows us to practice Humility by humbling accepting the truth about ourselves and by surrendering our nature in a more complete way to the will of God...Thank you...Armand
DeleteArmand, thanks again for sharing,
ReplyDeleteHaving cleared away the wreckage of my past and established a relationship with God, through His grace, in the previous steps, I now discover that I have been propelled into a new dimension. Life is no longer a cold grey prison but a technicolor journey to the Source of Infinite Love. Life once a mystery is now crystal clear. The steps are no longer a mere set of suggestions penned upon a page but a lifestyle destination engraved upon my heart. The Holy Spirit now resides within me. His presence is unmistakable and my conscience, once seared to a whisper is now sensitive to every wayward thought, word and deed and propels me further to satisfy a new hunger and thirst for the gentle embrace of God’s Holy Spirit.
In Step10 I continue to meet God at His mercy seat. There, He lovingly compels me to loosen my grasp on life lived that day and seek out His way as He gently reveals the Source of this conversation as, Himself... the Lover of my soul. He expands and refines my 11th step intimacy into a daily continuous conversation, as moment by moment, I discover that even my most seemingly insignificant daily actions begin to become purified through this continuous fervent prayer. The Divine Source of the program, the collective witness of the founders and the True Inspiration of the message is now simply contained in 1 John: 1-9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness". It is a miraculously incomprehensible fact that the pure and holy God of all eternity Himself personally reaches out, initiates and finally completes this ongoing process with all who are willing to surrender to Him. To God be the glory forever and ever, Amen...
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic loved when you wrote "life once a mystery now becomes crystal clear.
ReplyDelete..Thank you...Armand