One of the things I hope I never forget is what made the difference to change me from the chronic alcoholic I was into a sober human being. And that happened after I came in and was introduced to the Second Step of this program. The door to the spiritual way of life.
This was one of the topics today and the one which had most talking about the Second Step and how it affected their lives for the positive. Almost all said this Step was the one which brought about the change they so definitely needed. Moreover it almost had all of them bringing a Higher Power into their lives.
Like so many others that was just the beginning. Having been introduced to this spiritual way of life and a Power greater than ourselves, we were now in a place where changes none of us ever dreamed of were beginning to take over our lives. Instead of a negative drunk, who had dragged himself through these doors, the possibility of being restored to sanity was right in front of us for the first time in our lives. Imagine the insane creatures we were was nearing an end.
That admission our lives were unmanageable was about to change. The alcohol had already been arrested in me. The physical side of this disease was under control at last. The spiritual awakening was taking place. Now my Higher Power was going to empower me to make those changes I so desperately needed. I was going to be able to do what I had never even thought of before. Like being able to make amends to those I injured out there. And just as the BB said I was finally going to stop fighting everyone and everything, including alcohol. That was because now I was going to be restored to sanity. Alcohol was going to be placed in a position of neutrality.
But there was more and more I had never conceived of. The one which almost overwhelmed me was the happiness I was given. The peace of mind. Like the Ninth Step said in the Promises, a new freedom. All this was beyond my wildest dreams. I found peace and serenity in here. And all this because I surrendered and accepted this spiritual way of life and came to believe in my Higher Power.
This is one of the keys in this program for me. I never ever want to forget what this did for me. Looking back and thinking I should never have been alive and yet here I am after all this time. All because this program has given me so much. Surrendering to that First Step helped me to stumble in here. However I was really out of touch in here until my sponsor did for me what I now know I needed him to do. He got me to open that chapter in the BB, We Agnostics. And that began it all.
Anyway it is another reminder to me of why I am here. To stay sober a day at a time. All that because my Higher Power gives me the power and strength I need to live this way a day at a time. I am so grateful to this God of my understanding for all I have been given. And that all goes back to my sponsor and those old timers and the rest of the fellowship who have helped me along the way. My thanks also to them.