This is from Courage to Change ODAT in Al-Anon II 1/8
I once emphatically told my family that their bickering was making our newly sober loved one nervous and this might cause her to start drinking again. I was shocked when I was told, just as emphatically, “Well, let her!” I realized that I was still trying to make everything smooth and easy for the alcoholic, because I hadn’t accepted that I was just as powerless over alcoholism in sobriety as I had been during the active years.
It was then that I truly discovered how beautifully “Letting go and letting God” could work. When I fully understood how powerless I was over the situation, I was able to trust that the alcoholic has her own Higher Power and that, together, they can work out her future. I felt like a new person because I was free of the constant need to watch over her, free to live my own life.
I care about the alcoholic in my life more than I can say. I wish her health, happiness, and sobriety, but I cannot hand these things to her. She and her Higher Power are in charge of that. I can only love her, and when I stop to think about it, that is enough.
Today’s Reminder
Today I choose to place my trust in that Higher Power, knowing that all is well.
“If we supply the willingness, God supplies the power.”
Al-Anon Family Groups