Today our meeting was one, which reinforced the memory of the Serenity Prayer for nearly everyone. In fact a couple of us were discussing this prayer before the meeting. Moreover I got a call from a friend out of state, who admitted that they needed to be reminded of this prayer.
Of course this prayer always reminded me of the BB statement that we are not saints, but human alcoholics. And, as such, like the rest of humanity we are never in charge of ever changing anyone else. We can only change ourselves, hopefully with the help of our Higher Power.
One of the reminders for me was my old sponsor. He was the one who told me that I didn’t know that I didn’t know. I only thought I did. And that woke me up. I desperately needed to learn what would help this alcoholic to get sober and stay sober. And that was the introduction to the Second Step for me, which helped open the door to the spiritual life in here, and, of course, my relationship to my Higher Power.
Through my studying the BB and the 12&12 I was being reinforced by my old sponsor and all those old timers I met in here. I was given information I needed, which changed me. I learned that I was to freely give what had been freely given to me, to help others change, if they needed and wanted to. But that was all I could really do. I had to learn to step back and begin to grow in what I needed so much: humility. Not easy, but do-able.