Daily Reflections...Comments Welcomed

[CarolD]

March 8


Daily Reflections

TURNING IT OVER

Every man and woman who has joined A.A. and intends to stick has,
without realizing it, made a beginning on Step Three. Isn't it true
that in all matters touching upon alcohol, each of them has decided to
turn his or her life over to the care, protection, and guidance of
Alcoholics Anonymous? . . . Any willing newcomer feels sure A.A. is
the only safe harbor for the foundering vessel he has become. Now if this is
not turning one's will and life over to a newfound Providence, then what
is it?
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 35

Submission to God was the first step to my recovery. I believe our
Fellowship seeks a spirituality open to a new kinship with God. As I
exert myself to follow the path of the Steps, I sense a freedom that
gives me the ability to think for myself. My addiction confined me
without any release and hindered my ability to be released from my
self-confinement, but A.A. assures me of a way to go forward.
Mutual sharing, concern and caring for others is our natural gift to
each other and mine is strengthened as my attitude toward God
changes. I learn to submit to God's will in my life, to have self-respect,
and to keep both of these attitudes by giving away what I receive.

[barb dwyer]

hear, hear.

Smartest thing I ever did.

And I find ... I have to KEEP doing. Like I said on another thread ... I've made my Spirituality, my connection with HP ... the center of everything in my life.

Nothing ... in 6 months ... nothing in this life is as it was.

That alone is a blessing!
thanks Carol!
barb

[Debaucher]

I was reading my 12x12 last night and read that... and reading that chapter I found the operative word to be "willing"... or "willingness"...

Reflecting on my last month in AA it took me a week to come to the conclusion that I wanted to want to turn my will an life over to any God... if I could just understand one...

Reading that last night... confirmed what I had been trusting in... that if I just wanted to believe.. and worked hard to reconcile the things that were not right in my mind (the obstacles to my faith)... I would move beyond just wanting to want to believe... to really wanting to believe... to believing... to strong faith...

willing is the word... you must be willing... period...

one thing that brought my reconciliation of my faith to a climax... was a line in the BB or was it 12x12... I forget... it basically says you need to decide... either God Exists or He does not... it was like a hammer hitting me in the head saying... hey <insert my name> @#$ or get off the pot!

Well I have quit fighting... I now believe in a power greater than myself... I believe in God... because I was willing... my sponsor kept saying that it will come like a theif in the night... and he was right... I don't know when it happened it just did...

and the thing is I didn't even realize that the first step to turning over my will an life to a power greater than my self... was when I decided to keep going back to AA and to trust in it to help me...