SERVING MY BROTHER

 Good Morning!!!

 

God grant me the Serenity

to accept the things

I cannot change;

Courage to change

the things I can;

and Wisdom

to know the difference.

Thy will, not mine, be done.

 

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*

 

January 21, 2024

 

SERVING MY BROTHER

 

The member talks to the newcomer

not in a spirit of power

but in a spirit of humility and weakness.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS COMES OF AGE p. 279

 

As the days pass in A.A.,

I ask God to guide my thoughts

and the words that I speak.

In this labor

of continuous participation in the Fellowship,

I have numerous opportunities to speak.

So, I frequently ask God

to help me watch over my thoughts and my words,

that they may be

the true and proper reflections of our program;

to focus my aspirations

once again to seek His guidance;

to help me be truly kind and loving,

helpful and healing,

yet always filled with humility,

and free from any trace of arrogance.

 

Today I may very well have to deal with

disagreeable attitudes or utterances –

the typical stock-in-trade attitude

of the still-suffering alcoholic.

If this should happen,

I will take a moment to center myself in God,

so that I will be able to respond

from a perspective of composure,

strength and sensibility.

 

**********************************************

The Wine of Success

 

Disagreeable or unexpected problems

are not the only ones that call for self-control.

We must be quite as careful

when we begin to achieve some measure of importance

and material success.

For no people have ever loved personal triumphs

more than we have loved them;

we drank of success as of a wine

which could never fail to make us feel elated.

Blinded by prideful self-confidence,

we were apt to play the big shot.

Now that we’re in A.A. and sober,

winning back the esteem

of our friends and business associates,

we find that we still need to exercise special vigilance.

As an insurance against the dangers of big-shot-ism,

we can often check ourselves by remembering

that we are today sober only by the grace of God

and that any success we may be having

is far more His success than ours.

12 & 12, pp. 91-92

 

**********************************************

"I can't help it"......

that's what we all say

when we don't want to exert ourselves.

--Eva Lathbury

 

Irresponsible behavior is not unfamiliar to us.

Passivity is equally familiar.

In the past, excusing ourselves of all responsibility

prevented us from being blamed.

We have learned that

it also prevented us from feeling worthy,

from fulfilling our potential,

from feeling the excitement

that comes with achievement.

Our fear of failure helped us to be irresponsible.

We may still fear failure,

but the program offers us an antidote.

We can't fail if we have turned

our lives over to our higher power.

We will be shown the way to proceed.

Our fellow travelers have messages for us

that will smooth our path.

 

I have chosen recovery.

I have already said, "I can help it."

I will celebrate that I am taking responsibility

for my life today.

 

*******

Just a thought……………

 

God willing, we members of AA may never again

have to deal with drinking,

but we have to deal with sobriety every day.

How do we do it?

By learning -- through practicing the Twelve Steps

and through sharing at meetings –

how to cope with the problems

that we looked to booze to solve,

back in our drinking days. . .

We learn how to level out the emotional swings

that got us into trouble both

when we were up and when we were down.

c. 1976 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 560

c. 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 558

 

Thought to consider.........

 

The ankle-biters of everyday struggles

will eat away at me

unless I go to meetings and share.

 

Topic Question:

 

How do you cope with dealing with sobriety every day?

 

**************************************************

A journey of a thousand miles

must begin with a single step.

—Chinese proverb

 

Even the strongest, most loving families

always have room for growth.

There is no such thing as a "perfect" family.

If our family is far from perfect, that's okay.

It only matters that we are working at getting better.

Often, runners will say they can remember many days

when they just did not feel like running;

however, once they started,

they felt more energy and were easily able

to run the distance, they had set for that day.

 

Whatever we need to do, we can do in small acts—

a chore done without being asked,

a helping hand with the dishes,

a soft word, a surprise gift for no reason.

These are small things, easily done.

Love is made of small things;

what is large is the love

with which they are accomplished.

 

When we begin to work

on our relationship with our family,

we will feel the new energy,

and quickly we will find ourselves making progress.

 

What is the first thing I can do today

to improve my relationship with my family?

 

*******

Grapevine quote of the day

 

"Service made me feel useful.

Twelfth Step work taught me to accept my past."

State College, Pa., April 1994

"Working Incognito"

Spiritual Awakenings