and not taking any of it back!
The AA 3rd Step states: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.“
When new to the program, this is the 1st Step we take where we are actually consciously working on our recovery from our addiction.
Steps 1 and 2 are not what we would consider action steps because we are doing little more than admitting to our addiction and coming to realize that there is a Power greater than ourselves.
Not only is Step 3 the 1st action step for us, but it’s also a step of renewal for those of us who have already taken it one or more times before.
Whenever I felt out of sorts about anything, I was advised early on in the program to see where I was not working my program properly. The answer was ALWAYS found here in Step 3.
You see, even though I had turned my will and life over to my God before, I had taken part or parts of it back. I rationalized that the part that I was taking back was needed, otherwise, I would not be me, or some similar attitude.
There was always a rationalization so that I could keep guilt out of the picture. This is why we see people who have not had a drink in a long time, sometimes even decades, having illnesses and relationship problems that had been missing for a long time.
A healthy mind leads to a healthy body and away from problematic issues. I don’t need someone reminding me anymore that I still am only 1 drink away from the madness as long as I only remember the past, not dwell in it.
No more than I need someone to tell me not to take a nap in the speed lane of an Interstate. Why would I even think something like this, let alone talk about it, if I were working my Program 24/7 365? I wouldn’t and don’t.
If these thoughts are in the front of my mind, I am not working my Program 24/7/365. I am taking “vacations”, so to speak, from the Program. That Is why I don’t just say work it 24/7.
This is because I must also work it 365 or my thoughts are going to take over and I am right back in the madness of this disease. It is not always easy but it is ALWAYS simple and a must to perform.
I will continue to work it 24/7/365 because I do not want to go back to the madness, even for a moment. I have been assured that the way to stay out of the madness is to just work my Program 24/7/365 and it is working very well for me.
I am regularly Happy, Joyous, and Free. And stay that way when working this simple program, through good and bad times. Bad times and life keep coming at us so we just handle it SOBERLY, not only dryly.
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