Motivation Mondays

4/1/19
TWELVE STEP SERIES

Weekly Focal Point

“Cling to the thought that, in God’s hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have – the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them.”

~ Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous pg. 124 ~

Twelve Step Series

Step Twelve: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

What could a spiritual awakening really do for us? It could set us free. It would not free us of our problems; those we will always have as part of our human condition. Our release came from knowing that help was within our reach if we asked. This was the dependable way to get help, whether our difficulties came from living with alcoholism or any other situation in which we reacted in self-defeating ways. This is a gift – a pattern for living that really works. It is our reward for the courage and determination we applied in using the Steps to change ourselves. Carrying the message to others has spread Al-Anon’s help to troubled people all over the world. Every time we fulfill that responsibility, our reward is an ever-richer gift. We found our Twelfth Step continued with another thought: that practicing these principles in all our affairs could carry our effort still further. The principles are those guides that we discovered by taking the Steps. The more closely our thoughts relate to a Power greater than ourselves, the more we find we are growing in humility, without which there can be no spiritual progress.

(Al-Anon’s Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions, pg. 74-76)

3 C’s of Al-Anon

  1. We didn’t CAUSE it
  2. We can’t CONTROL it
  3. We can’t CURE it

AND WE WON’T CONTRIBUTE TO IT TODAY

Considerations for the Week

  1. Has working the Twelve Steps led me to a transformation in the way I feel, the way I think and ultimately the way I respond to life?
  2. Am I willing to “carry the message” to those still suffering in family recovery? Do I make myself available regularly to be of service to them?
  3. Are the spiritual principles of family recovery currently governing me in all of my affairs? Is there perhaps an area or two of my life that I have attempted to manage outside the confines of spiritual principles?