Latest / Sober Readings / No More Struggle
Transcript
- Scott Hayes: Good morning everyone, today is Sunday the 22nd of March. is Sober Readings. Today's reading from Daily Reflections. No more struggle. And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone, even alcohol. That's a line from Alcoholics Anonymous, page 84. And if you've been listening to Sober Readings for the last few days, the last three readings from Daily Reflections have all started off with readings from page 84 of the big book. And that's where the Ninth Step Promises come from. So let's continue. When AA found me, I thought I was in for a struggle, and that AA might provide the strength I needed to beat alcohol. Victorious in that fight, who knows what other battles I could I would need to be strong, though. All my previous experience with life proved that. Today, I do not have to struggle or exert my will. If I take those twelve steps and let my higher power do the real work, my alcohol problem disappears all by itself. My living problems also cease to be struggles. I just have to ask whether acceptance or change is required. It is not my will, but his. that needs doing. Today's reading from 24 Hours. March 22, AA Thought for the Day. We're all looking for the power to overcome drinking. A fellow comes into AA and his first question is, how do I get the strength to quit? At first, it seems to him that he will never get the necessary strength. He sees older members who have found the power he is looking for, but he doesn't know the process by which they got it. This necessary strength comes in many ways. So ask yourself, have I found all the strength I need? The meditation for the day. You cannot have a spiritual need which God cannot supply. Your fundamental need is a spiritual need, the need of power to live the good life. The best spiritual supply is received by you when you want it to pass on to other people. You get it largely by giving it away. God gives you strength as you pass it on to another person. That strength means increased health. Increased health means more good work, and more good work means more people helped. And so it goes on, a constant supply to meet all spiritual needs. prayer for the day. I pray that my every spiritual need will be supplied by God. I pray that I may use the power I receive to help others. And for today's final reading, we're going to the grapevine from January of 2015. This one is titled, My No Matter What Prayer. I remember the day I got my first sponsor. She was about 5'10", and I was barely 4'11". We looked quite the pair. She lived only a few blocks from me, and I would show up on her front doorstep, holding the morning paper. We went to my first women's AA retreat after I had five months. I thought it was for fun, so I took along some board games. Needless to say, she laughed. I got very agitated at the retreat, with the circle of women discussing motherhood. This was not what I had expected, and I wanted to go home. My sponsor very nicely told me I could start walking, and she would catch up with me the next day. The problem was, we were 200 miles from home. I am glad now that I didn't leave, because I got to hear the Saturday night speaker. She said something that has stuck with me all these years. She said she asked God to keep her sober, no matter what. Sounds too simple, but until that night I had excuses to drink all lined up. For the past 29 years now, I ask God each morning to keep me sober. One of the excuses I used to give myself to drink was if one of my children were to ever die. The sad thing is that my youngest son died in a car accident when I had 13 years sober. And by the grace of God, I did not drink. Also, I sadly used the same prayer two years later when my only daughter also died. Sometimes I ask myself, what if I hadn't gone to that weekend retreat with my sponsor and heard that prayer? That was written by Anita C. and Tulsa, Oklahoma. And although thankfully, none of my children have died. I can relate to hearing something in a meeting that I remember for years to come. And I remember when I first got sober hearing people talk about the No Matter What Club. And I thought it was kind of corny, just like a lot of the other sayings that we have in the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. But this one I would hear all the time, the No Matter What Club. And the fact is, I need to be a part of that No Matter What Club. Because if not, that means I have reservations. And reservations mean that if something were to happen in my life, that would be the time to drink. And so I had to get all those reservations out of my head because I know exactly what happens to me when I go back to drinking. So I'd love to hear your thoughts and your comments on the No Matter What Club. Send me an email at soberreadingswithscott at gmail.com or go to my website soberreadings.com and fill out that form. And if you'd like to drop a dollar in the donation basket for today's readings, just click that donate button. So again, thanks everyone for listening. Take care of yourselves and each other. And remember, just for today, don't drink, go to a meeting, and keep coming back. Have a great day. And as my friend Larry says, best day ever.