Who’d ever believe, back when we were all out there, that on Aug. 31, 2006 we’d even be sitting and reading about God? Most of us never thought about God in the bad old days. And, if we did, it was usually to ask Him to get us out of some situation and we’d never do it again. If anything, He was a sidebar in our lives. As Bill W. put it, we considered Him a bush league pinch hitter, only to come in and hit a home run for us.
And, yet today, He is the most important figure in our lives. Today, we look to Him for the solution to all our problems with living. And if we don’t, we’re headed for big trouble. If we do, we on the right track in this program of recovery. He’s either everything or He’s nothing.
If anything, experience is our best teacher. All the books in the world cannot teach us what alcohol taught us. It taught me that if I drank it would kill me or drive me mad. Recovery has taught me that the solution to my problems was a loving God. That, too, came through experience. Experience through watching others, who had found the solution, living sober lives. I learned from experience that I too could find the same solution for myself.
Through the experience of putting the steps into action in my life I came to believe and had a spiritual awakening.
That desire to drink again was lifted from me and I could live a sober and useful life. Through the God I found in this program, I have had the experience, over and over, one day at a time, of being restored to sanity. I no longer had to fight anyone or anything, including alcohol. I found peace and serenity and a new happiness and freedom.
Each day I can look back at the experiences of the day before and the day before that to see what I have learned and know that I have found a firm bedrock on which to place my feet and go forward. All this because at one point I made a decision to let go and trust in something greater than myself. I no longer had to rely on my own frustratingly weak efforts. I had found the source of power, which could empower me to live this life in a sober and alcohol free way.
Each day I now can place my dependence on this God of my understanding. It’s the most important thing I can do. I pray I may always look to my Higher Power for the solutions I seek on a daily basis.