Thoughts For The Day~*~Surrender ^*^*^ January 31

[TransitionsDaily]

~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~
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(\  ~~~  /)
( \(AA)/ )
(_ /AA\ _)
/AA\
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Surrender

On the face of it, surrendering certainly does not seem like winning. But it is in A.A. only after we have come to the end of our rope, hit a stone wall in some aspect of our lives beyond which we can go no further; only when we hit "bottom" in despair and surrender, can we accomplish sobriety which we could never accomplish before. We must, and we do, surrender in order to win.
c. 1955 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous
2nd Edition, pp. 341-342

Thought to Consider . . .

Life didn't end when I got sober - it started.

*~*AACRONYMS*~*

A N O N Y M O U S
Actions, Not Our Names, Yield Maintenance Of Unity and Service

*~*^Just For Today!^*~*

Stages

From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"In the first years, those of us who sobered up in A.A. had been grim and utterly hopeless cases, almost without exception. But now younger folks began to appear. Lots of people turned up who still had jobs and homes and health and even good social standing. These in their turn were able to persuade others like themselves of the need for A.A. Of course it was necessary for these types of newcomers to hit bottom emotionally. But we found they did not have to hit every possible bottom there was in order to admit that they were licked. When one of these mild cases arrived at the conviction that he already had the principal symptoms of alcoholism that was usually enough. He 'hit bottom' then and there and so was spared years of anguish."
2001 AAWS, Inc.
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 199

*^Daily Reflections^*

OUR COMMON WELFARE COMES FIRST

The unity of Alcoholics Anonymous is the most cherished quality our Society has . . . We stay whole, or A.A. dies.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 129

Our Traditions are key elements in the ego deflation process necessary to achieve and maintain sobriety in Alcoholics Anonymous. The First Tradition reminds me not to take credit, or authority, for my recovery. Placing our common welfare first reminds me not to become a healer in this program; I am still one of the patients. Self-effacing elders built the ward. Without it, I doubt I would be alive. Without the group, few alcoholics would recover.

The active role in renewed surrender of will enables me to step aside from the need to dominate, the desire for recognition, both of which played so great a part in my active alcoholism. Deferring my personal desires for the greater good of group growth contributes toward A.A. unity that is central to all recovery. It helps me to remember that the whole is greater than the sum of all its parts.
Copyright 1990
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*

In God's Economy

"In God's economy, nothing is wasted. Through failure, we learn a lesson in humility which is probably needed, painful though it is."
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"We did not always come closer to wisdom by reason of our virtues; our better understanding is often rooted in the pains of our former follies. Because this has been the essence of our individual experience, it is also the essence of our experience as a fellowship."
1. LETTER, 1942
2. GRAPEVINE, NOVEMBER 1961

*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*

"We will seldom be interested in liquor. If tempted, we recoil from it as from a hot flame. We react sanely and normally, and we will find that this has happened automatically. We will see that our new attitude toward liquor has been given us without any thought or effort on our part. It just comes!"
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 84~

*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*

A.A. Thought for the Day

Drinking cuts you off from God. No matter how you were brought up, no matter what your religion is, no matter if you say you believe in God, nevertheless you build up a wall between you and God by your drinking. You know you're not living the way God wants you to. As a result, you have that terrible remorse. When you come into A.A., you begin to get right with other people and with God. A sober life is a happy life, because by giving up drinking, we've gotten rid of our loneliness and remorse. Do I have real fellowship with other people and with God?

Meditation for the Day

I believe that all sacrifice and all suffering are of value to me. When I am in pain, I am being tested. Can I trust God, no matter how low I feel? Can I say, "Thy will be done," no matter how much I am defeated? If I can, my faith is real and practical. It works in bad times as well as in good times. The Divine Will is working in a way that is beyond my finite mind to understand, but I can still trust in it.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may take my suffering in my stride. I pray that I may accept pain and defeat as part of God's plan for my spiritual growth.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012


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