SEPTEMBER 8

 "WE ASKED HIS PROTECTION"

We asked His protection and care with complete abandon.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 59

I could not manage my life alone. I had tried that road and failed. My "ultimate sin" dragged me down to the lowest level I have ever reached and, unable even to function, I accepted the fact that I desperately needed help. I stopped fighting and sur­rendered entirely to God.

Only then did I start growing! God forgave me. A Higher Power had to have saved me, because the doctors doubted that I would survive. I have for­given myself now and I enjoy a freedom I have never before experienced. I've opened my heart and mind to Him. The more I learn, the less I know—a humbling fact—but I sincerely want to keep grow­ing. I enjoy serenity, but only when I entrust my life totally to God. As long as I am honest with myself and ask for His help, I can maintain this rewarding existence.

Just for today, I strive to live His will for me— soberly.

I thank God that today I can choose not to drink. Today, life is beautiful!

SEPTEMBER 7

 "OUR SIDE OF THE STREET"

We are there to sweep off our side of the street, realiz­ing that nothing worth while can be accomplished until we do so, never trying to tell him what he should do. His faults are not discussed. We stick to our own.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 77-78

I made amends to my dad soon after I quit drink­ing. My words fell on deaf ears since I had blamed him for my troubles. Several months later I made amends to my dad again. This time I wrote a letter in which I did not blame him nor mention his faults. It worked, and at last I understood! My side of the street is all that I'm responsible for and— thanks to God and A.A.—it's clean for today.

SEPTEMBER 6

 REMOVING THREATS TO SOBRIETY

. . . except when to do so would injure them or oth­ers.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 59

Step Nine restores in me a feeling of belonging, not only to the human race but also to the everyday world. First, the Step makes me leave the safety of A.A., so that I may deal with non-A.A. people "out there," on their terms, not mine. It is a frightening but necessary action if I am to get back into life. Second, Step Nine allows me to remove threats to my sobriety by healing past relationships. Step Nine points the way to a more serene sobriety by letting me clear away past wreckage, lest it bring me down.

SEPTEMBER 5

 EMOTIONAL BALANCE

Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, . . .

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 83

When I survey my drinking days, I recall many people whom my life touched casually, but whose days I troubled through my anger and sarcasm. These people are untraceable, and direct amends to them are not possible. The only amends I can make to those untraceable individuals, the only "changes for the better" I can offer, are indirect amends made to other people, whose paths briefly cross mine. Courtesy and kindness, regularly practiced, help me to live in emotional balance, at peace with myself.