God Could and Would if He Were Sought
To introduce a topic, I will restate a portion of “How It Works” here:
Our description of the alcoholic, the chapter to the agnostic, and our personal adventures before and after make clear three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.
(c) That God could and would if He were sought.
After many hard years of drinkin’ and druggin’ and “men-in’, and thankfully, a number of years of sobriety, I’m convinced that (a) I am alcoholic and I have come to understand and accept that I (by myself) I cannot manage my own life; (b) I’m also convinced that my alcoholism ~ and all the other “isms” connected with it ~ will not be relieved by me or any other human being.
I say convinced because I need to be reminded (through meetings, Sponsors) that my best thinking got me drunk, hung-over, in a blackout and married to someone I didn’t like. 🙂 What helps me most NOW is working and re-working the Steps as outlined in the Big Book, and through that process, I discover and re-discover that (c) “God could and would if He were sought.”
For me, this is an ongoing process ~ my brain/psyche is still alcoholic and I get caught up in (or create) the current drama in my life and I need to be reminded to “pause when agitated” and ask for GOD = Good Orderly Direction. Otherwise, I find myself off in the ditch.
When I do take the time to put God in the center of whatever is going on, everything comes together well — much better than I could have created on my own. I find myself noticing that God did for me what I could not do for myself. Examples of that include my recent celebration of 24 years of sobriety; my marriage of 20+ years when, prior to this Program, I could not maintain a relationship for longer than 20 months max; the enjoyment of good, fun, meaningful relationships with my family members, with healthy boundaries and loving support; and reasonably healthy boundaries in my work that has a tendency to be all-consuming.
The list could go on but, suffice to say ~ God has done for me what I could not do for myself in every area of my life. Wherever I let Him in, it gets better.
Please share about how, in your own Program of recovery, “God could and would if He were sought”.
To the NEWCOMERS and new members, I send a special request that you share about wherever you are at the moment because it helps me stay sober to read your stories and to share with you what it was like for me. Words don’t have to be fancy. Just share from your heart.