Two things we can count on.
In the morning, I go out to get the paper. A brand new beautiful spider web on the man gate greets me. I dutifully wipe it away with my hand and bring in the paper. Next day a completely new one is spun again in the same place.
Same with weeds. I water all of the plants in the garden and marvel at how fast the weeds return, even after hand-weeding the previous day. Hmmm...I guess I need to stay on this thing every day.
Just like my sobriety.
If I don’t do something to ensure my sobriety daily, I will surely be overtaken by the weeds and cobwebs—in my mind! So, what are the weeds and cobwebs in my mind and how do I keep them pulled and wiped away?
By daily habits. Someone said in a meeting I attended on Zoom the other day, “My sponsor said that I have to chase after my sobriety with the same intensity that I chased after alcohol.” That struck a chord with me. I need my habits of staying sober to match or out-match my habits of keeping my alcoholism in place. Working and reworking the Twelve Steps of AA, particularly Step Four and Step Ten.
Step Four of the Twelve Steps of AA is a severe weeding process:
“Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.”
and its Biblical counterpart,
“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.” Lamentations 3:40
Step Ten of the Twelve Steps of AA is more like wiping away the cobwebs daily:
“Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.”
and its Biblical counterpart,
“So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you do not fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12
My daily reprieve from alcoholism is this:
• Pray the 3rd step prayer upon awakening.
• Be of service—reach out to someone else who may need help.
• Go to a meeting (now, mostly Zoom online)
• Write a gratitude list, shifting my focus for the day.
• Go about my day knowing that God is directing my path
• End the day in thanks to God for my sobriety and joyful life without alcohol
Oh, and sometimes, I call my sponsor too. Ha Ha. Yes, do that.
“Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny. May God bless you and keep you - until then.”
Page164 of Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous
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