May 29 - Relapse

I remember when I lived in Woodside, I used to say I was strategically located halfway between the Woodside Tavern and detox. That way, if I ever wanted my old life back all I had to do was get drunk at the tavern, stop at my place, get all my belongings off the front lawn, then head down to detox. As soon as they seen me coming with my alcoholic luggage, a garbage bag and a lamp, they'd lock all the doors and cover the windows.

The words I got from my god-box this morning were But For The Grace of God. I been sober going on twenty-four years. My alcoholism, like a cancer, is in remission. But, I am not cured. All I have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of my spiritual condition. My alcoholism is doing pushups in the parking lot waiting for me to make a bad decision. As long as I remember that, I might be okay.

May 9 - Help Others

 

There is a saying in our fellowship: trust God, clean house, help others. Helping others may mean sponsoring them, but not always. Sometimes just answering a question a newcomer might have or listening when they need to vent, can be an enormous help to them. If they do require a sponsor and we have the time to work with them, we ought to be willing to help. Generally, sponsorship will involve taking the new person on the journey of the twelve steps. Having had the experience ourselves, we can give them much practical advice.

May 8 - Honesty With Others

 

The phrase I pulled out of my god box today was Honesty With Others. Interestingly, we're in the month of May which is the 5^th month and the 5^th Step is that we admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. How effectively we work the remaining steps and the quality of our sobriety rests on how honest we are with others, with ourselves, and with God.

Sometimes, we try to keep certain facts to ourselves. I tried that, and although my sobriety was strong, it was lacking in some ways. The solution was simple. I became more honest.