Faith as A Gift

[jimhere]

This is the time of year when gifts, both the giving of and the getting of are on most people's minds.

Much of what we hear in A.A. these days seems to of the new-agey self-help, self-improvement, self-empowerment sort of self-serving spirituality that dominates not only A.A. but society as a whole these days. Sort of a "I got mine and the hell with you" feel good type of spirituality.

We dangle the Ninth Step promises in front of newcomers like a carrot. We talk of "getting a life." We even speak of faith as something we need to get.

The book speaks of things like faith, love, and worship as being inborn, not something to get or to learn. We all have the capacity for faith and love. Even God is not something to get and hold. It is fundamental, the inborn essential, closer to us than the next breath, closer to us than ourselves. As much a fact as we are. The Great Reality that can only be found within by clearing away what blocks us within and can only get bigger by sharing it without. Where I AM, God is. My statement of faith. Now my lifework is to lead others to that.

Something Bill Wison wrote in The GrapeVine in 1961:
"Faith is more than our greatest gift; it's sharing with others is our greatest
responsibility. May we of A.A. continually seek the wisdom and the willing-
ness by which we well fulfill that immense trust which the Giver of all perfect
gifts has placed in our hands."

Meditating upon this writing, I am left with some deep awarenesses.

All my life I have sought meaning. I had it backwards. Getting was the goal. We have been given an immense responsibilty. People put their lives in our hands on a daily basis. Now there is meaning and depth and purpose.

I think of the gift I have been given and of the gratitude that I feel. Sometimes I get caught in "Where's mine?" At other times like now, I am awed by the immensity of what is mine.

I do not give away what I've been given to keep it. I am compelled to give it away or it will eat me up. It has been said that "To whom much has been given, much will be asked." In an earlier thread I have said that my primary purpose is not to stay sober, but to lead others to this same Great Reality I have found. If I stick to that purpose, sobriety is a blessed by-product.

Our Twelfth Step is about gratitude, about "thank you." Thank you is an acknowledgement of you and an acknowledgement of God. How do you say thank you to something as big as God? I cannot wrap my mind around such a concept. So God gave me you. I say thank you to God through you.

Wishing all a blessed and peaceful Christmas.
Jim

[Rob B]

The greatest gift ever given to me, was an awakened spirit, the realization that God was in me, of me, all of me.The twelve steps of AA were the medium, pointing me to God, giving me promises of what my new life would look like. As Jim said,God is closer than breathing, and only available in the now.
To be able to transmit this message to a suffering drunk is a gift I give feely to any and all who want it. I do not apologize for my faith. Less than 4 years ago, I was living in an abandoned cabin on a remote island, drinking myself to death, praying for reasons not to pull the trigger, Today, the central fact in my life is that God has and continues to provide for me in ways that are miraculous. When talking to a suffering alcoholic, If I am not talking about the power of God in my life and what I did to access this power, I should remain silent,
This holiday, I pray that all who seek shall find the great reality within. God bless you all on this special evening.

[GrouchoTheCat]

I did my third step in a way that was very meaningful to me.

I walked away from that experience changed.

There was a subtle shift of consciousness that is impossible to describe.

Now there is within me a peace and serenity, a calmness, a feeling that all I need do is follow and seek direction.

I am no longer in charge and what incredible freedom there is.

As time goes on, these feelings are deepening and strengthening.

Yes, Jim, it is a gift. A precious priceless gift.

And I can't wait to give it away.

[CarolD]

Thanks for sharing Jim

Merry Christmas!

[miss communicat]

giving, for me, is giving back to God what is, always was, and will be, God's.
ditto with receiving.