June 7, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step
Friday, June 7, 2024

“Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.” — Step Three

“Our description of the alcoholic …make clear three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.
(c) That God could and would if He were sought.”  — Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 5, p 60.

Today, revisiting Step Three, I ask if I have the humility to turn my will and life over to the Higher Power of my understanding. The starting point is the admission that my life, “run on self-will,” has never worked. If I can agree, I must give up running the show — my life — the way I want because to continue to do so is another guaranteed failure. So, I look outside and, if I can say even half-heartedly that I am still alive only “by the grace of God,” I have begun to find my Higher Power. And because His grace is why I am alive, I can also say that I can trust Him more than myself to live serenely as a recovering alcoholic. Today, I reaffirm my decision to surrender my will to my Higher Power because I’ve not done such a great job of doing it on my own. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M., 2024