My wife and I worked with a newly married couple who are expecting their first child. They are so keen to work the program. Reason: Husband unemployed; marital stress; and living with in laws. I hope this one's different. Later on in recovery, they will have a baby, husband gets a nice job and they have their own home with lots of money. The meetings will take a back seat- excuses; steps and BB get discarded; no 12 step work.
My sponsor told me a long time ago that the only motivation for working the steps and going to meetings, should be sobriety because I am an alcoholic in need of recovery.
By His grace alone I have been able to do this for all these years. I gave up my job and my wife & I decided to walk by faith and not by sight. It works. We had to practise it in the beginning, but now it's a natural thing. I found that there is not much that I need for my life to be sustained. God has already made tremendous provision for me and my family, if only I am willing to trust Him.
Amen to that! Faith, trust, willingness and such have always been hard to come by for me, but with these steps, this program, this fellowship, acknowledging that myself is not the greatest power, and gifted with the blessed spiritual awakening, I stay sober, a day at a time. Totally provided for, living, not just surviving.
-- Edited by leeu on Saturday 26th of March 2011 06:41:04 PM
I work the steps because they (combined with meetings, sponsorship, individual therapy, group therapy for chemically dependent people....) seem to work. I'm not sure which of the pieces of that puzzle are keeping me sober, but I'm not interested in taking the gamble to see which one I lose gets me back to drinking again...
This program is sooo much more better than mine ever was and I get to grin thinking about that because I had no intention of giving mine up while my God had other intentions. God's grace was in God's love and patience for me...getting me here and then hanging around while I came to understand. We do it for ever.
