Latest / Sober Readings / By Faith And By Works
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Good morning, everyone. I'm Scott. This is Sober Readings. I'm glad you joined me today. I hope it's morning where you are. If it's not, good afternoon or good evening. Let's begin today with the serenity prayer. God, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference. Today's reading from Daily Reflections By Faith and by Works. On anvils of experience, the structure of our society was hammered out. Thus has it been with AA. By faith and by works we have been able to build upon the lessons of an incredible experience. They live today in the twelve traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous, which, God willing, shall sustain us in unity for as long as He may need us. That comes from twelve steps and twelve traditions. God has allowed me the right to be wrong in order for our fellowship to exist as it does today. If I place God's will first in my life, it is very likely that AA as I know it today will remain as it is. And that's a very short reading today from Daily Reflections, but a very important one. One of the greatest gifts I've received in AA is the wisdom and experience of the old timers who came before me. These are people who have lived through the struggles of alcoholism, experienced the miracles of recovery, and learned firsthand why the twelve traditions are so important to the survival of our fellowship. I can read about the traditions in a book, but hearing an old timer explain how those principles have protected AA over the years gives them a much deeper meaning. Their experience reminds me that AA isn't just about keeping me sober today, it's about preserving a fellowship that'll be here for the next alcoholism. Who walks through the doors looking for help? I have a responsibility to listen, learn, and eventually pass along those same lessons to someone else. By respecting the wisdom of those who came before me and practicing the traditions in my own recovery, I'm helping keep AA alive, and in the process, I'm helping keep myself sober. Today's reading from 24 hours. The AA Thought for the Day. So again, let's go back to Tuesday. First, I understand myself more than I ever did today. Wednesday said, second, I am content to face the rest of my life without alcohol. Yesterday's reading, third, I have learned how to be honest. And today, fourth, I have turned to a power greater than myself. Thank God, I am no longer at the center of the universe. All of the world does not revolve round me any longer. I am only one among many. And the last couple sentences in this reading, I do not have to depend entirely on myself any longer. With God I can face anything. So the question is, is my life in the hands of God? The meditation for the day. The grace of God is an assurance against all evil. It holds out security to the believing soul. We can have a new life of power, but only in close contact with the grace of God is its power realized. In order to realize it and benefit from it, you must have daily quiet communion with God, so that the power of His grace will come unhindered into your soul. And in today's prayer for the day, I'm praying that I may be kept from evil by the grace of God. And so for me, one of the most important lessons I've learned in sobriety is that the world doesn't revolve around me. For a long time I thought everything was about me, what I wanted, how I felt, what other people thought of me, and whether things were going the way I believed they should be go. That kind of self-centered thinking kept me trapped in my own head and often made my problems seemingly. Much bigger than they actually were. AA has taught me that I don't have to be the center of everything, and more importantly, I don't have to figure everything out on my own. And by the way, I don't want to. carry every burden by myself. Sometimes all I need to do is get out of my own way, ask for help, and remember that I'm part of something much bigger than myself. For today's third reading, let's go to Keep It Simple Daily Meditations for 12 Step Beginnings and Renewal. That starts off with a quote from Oliver Wendell Holmes. Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle that fits them all. Lying above everything else brings us close to getting crazy again. Lying is what addicts do. In our addiction, our whole life was a lie. Lying creates danger because it creates secrets. Secrets keep us from others. To stay sober, we need to stay close to people. We can't make it on our own. Lying creates danger because it creates shame. A lie, like a drink, may make us feel good for the moment. But in the long run it creates shame. In the action for the day? For the next twenty four hours I will tell no lies. If I do, I'll go back to do step ten. I will remember that lies can lead to relapse. And that action for the day really hits home for me. One of the most dangerous things I can do in sobriety is start being dishonest, whether that's lying to someone else or lying to myself. I've learned that even the smallest lie can become a much bigger problem, because one lie often leads to another, and before I know it, I'm carrying around guilt, shame, and the fear of being found out. Those feelings can eat away at my peace of mind, damage my relationships. and contribute to anxiety, depression, and isolation. And for an alcoholic like me, that's a dangerous place to be, because when I start feeling overwhelmed by those emotions, I can start looking for ways to escape them instead of dealing with them. The twelve steps have taught me that honesty is the foundation of my recovery, even when telling the truth is uncomfortable or means admitting I've done something wrong. I don't have to be perfect in sobriety But I do have to be willing to be honest about my imperfections. A lie might help me avoid discomfort for a little while, but the truth allows me to live with a clear conscience. And today, protecting my peace of mind is part of protecting my sobriety. And it brings to mind another one of the acronyms that we use in Alcoholics Anonymous, and that is HOW. Honesty, openness, and willingness. And that is how it works. For today's final reading, I'm gonna go to the Grapevine from October of twenty twenty four. And this short writing is called One Drop of Beer. The insanity of drinking returned to me today. I was at the golf course and we had just completed our round. My wife asked me to bring home supper from the dining room, so I told my playing partner that I would join him and the other golfing buddies in the lounge as soon as I put my clubs away. Upon arrival, the men were sitting at a very small table already downing their first beers. They asked me to join them, and it truly would have been a knee knocker if my partner and I had done so. I glanced around the room, spotted a larger table with four chairs, and informed them that I preferred sitting there, as my wife was extremely high risk for COVID. I sensed their dejection by their mannerisms, but both respected my request, picked up their beers, and followed me to the table. My playing partner arrived and one of the men asked what we would like to drink. My partner said beer and I replied lemon soda. The server was summoned, and The order was placed, and moments later three beers and a soda arrived. We raised our glasses to perform a toast and all four glasses clanked, spilling one drop of beer from my partner's glass into my glass of lemon soda. I froze. My mind started churning a hundred miles an hour and I instantly questioned myself What do I do? Let it go and drink the drink as if nothing happened? Or possibly embarrass myself and order another soda? I chose the latter, and thirty seven years of continuous sobriety was kept in check. they mocked me and harassed me for being a wuss, and I did not care. My sobriety was intact, as was my sanity. I say that because if I had sipped that drink, knowing it contained beer, I wouldn't have been able to live it down, even though I and only I would have been the wiser. It would have destroyed me. Thank God for AA. For the steps that have taught me wisdom and for the higher power who continues to keep me safe every day. And that comes from York, Maine. And I chose that short reading because being true to myself and my sobriety means making the right decision, even when nobody else is watching. So if I'm out with friends and they're drinking beer and I'm drinking soda and we toast our drinks, and a drop goes into my glass, I have a choice to make. I could tell myself it's just the drop. That it won't hurt anything, and that nobody would ever know. But I would know. And for me, choosing not to drink that soda isn't about the amount of alcohol in the cla in the glass. It's about being honest with myself. It's about respecting my recovery and not making exceptions that could eventually lead me back to a drink. Because my sobriety is worth more than a glass of soda, and my peace of mind is worth more than making excuses. And I would love to hear your thoughts and your comments on this short story and what you would have done if you were out with friends and that happened to you. So there's a link in the show notes and you can send me an email, or you can just drop your comments down below. So that's all for today's episode of Sober Readings. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you heard something today, or maybe I said something that can stay with you and help you throughout your day. If you'd like to drop a dollar in today's virtual donation basket, just head on over to my website, soberreadings.com. Go to the support page, scroll down a bit, and find that button that says drop a dollar in the basket. So thanks for spending a few minutes of your day with me. Be good to yourselves, be good to others, and remember, we only have to do this one day at a time. So just for today, don't drink, go to a meeting, and keep coming back. Have a great day, everyone. And as my friend Larry always says, best day ever.