I love the promises of AA but only once I started to see them come true for me. Before I started actually working the program of AA, I was just treading water and relapsing all the time and the promises didn't magically materialize for me.
Turns out I was neglecting the part of the promises where it says "Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us—sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.' The "if we work for them" part.
When I hear people who relapse then make it back to AA, they never say they were successful at drinking or happy about their lives while in the throes of a relapse. They also say that they'd stopped working the program to some extent; that they failed to put sobriety first. The first thing I hear from people who relapse and make it back is "I stopped going to meetings". So, in other words, it's not because of AA that people relapse; it's lack of AA that does it.
I don't think of this as being a program of sympathy. Empathy may have more to do with it, but I see the program more as a plan of action. That's just me.
Glad to hear you're sober! Great news!
Much love.