Shame tells me that anyone who knows my story will think less of me. Do we lay the matter before our sponsor or spiritual adviser, earnestly asking Gods help and guidancemeanwhile resolving to do the right thing when it. The strength in the stories shared that day gave me hope, and the warmth and loving interchange among the people in the meeting allowed me to release the shame that had been holding me prisoner. I also became aware that there was no criticism, judgment, or advice given instead, those in the room simply listened. Once settled into my chair, I noticed a folded card sitting on the table in front of me that read, “I didn’t cause it, I cannot control it, and I cannot cure it.”Īs others shared their stories, I noticed many were like mine. I was greeted by several warm and friendly faces and invited to take a seat. If only I could feel safe to tell my story, but I knew sharing my secret with this group of moms would brand me and my family in a most unacceptable way.Ī short time after that breakfast, I walked into my first Al-Anon meeting. The pain of the last several years consumed me. On that Friday morning, he was 2,000 miles away, with no address, and I did not know whether he was alive or dead. My biggest fear was that someone would ask me about my oldest child who had graduated three years earlier. It was the day of my monthly breakfast with a small group of moms whose children went to school with mine. As we persist, a brand-new kind of confidence is born, and the sense of relief at finally facing ourselves is indescribable.I woke up filled with dread. Once we have a complete willingness to take inventory, and exert ourselves to do the job thoroughly, a wonderful light falls upon this foggy scene. Every time he tries to look within himself, Pride says, “You need not pass this way,” and Fear says, “You dare not look!”īut pride and fear of this sort turn out to be bogymen, nothing else. suggests a fearless moral inventory, it must seem to every newcomer that more is being asked of him than he can do. Sometimes I’ve failed to share my defects with the right people at other times, I’ve confessed their defects, rather than my own and still other times, my confession of defects has been more in the nature of loud complaints about my circumstances and my problems. As we work on recovery we discover many opportunities for opposition, too many persons and situations that make difficult our changing roles - too many persons.
My self-analysis has frequently been faulty. I pray that I will find satisfaction in obeying spiritual laws. I pray that I will find happiness in doing the right thing. If you live your life as much as possible according to spiritual laws, you can expect your share of joy and peace, satisfaction and success. God wants you to have spiritual success and He intends that you have it. Search for the real meaning of life by following spiritual laws. Spiritual experience brings a definite satisfaction. You feel at home in the world when you are in touch with the Divine Spirit of the universe. “These things have I spoken unto you, that your joy may be full.” Even a partial realization of the spiritual life brings much joy. Am I trusting God for the strength to stay sober? We try to live each day the way we believe God wants us to live. By prayer and meditation, we seek to improve our conscious contract with God. This takes us off the center of the universe and allows us to transfer our problems to a Power outside ourselves. From then on, we trust God for the strength to keep sober. When we put our drink problem in God’s hands and leave it there, we have made the most important decision of our lives. We must turn to a Higher Power for help, because we are helpless ourselves. Let us continue with Steps Two, Three, and Eleven.
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