AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

April 16, 2023
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Our Troubles
These mistaken attitudes, powered by alcohol, guaranteed our destruction, unless
they were altered. Then came A.A. Here we learned that trouble was really a fact
of life for everybody -- a fact that had to be understood and dealt with. Surprisingly,
we found that our troubles could, under God's grace, be converted into unimagined
blessings. Indeed, that was the essence of A.A. itself: trouble accepted, trouble
squarely faced with calm courage, trouble lessened and often transcended.
- As Bill Sees It, (Trouble: Constructive or Destructive?) No. 110
 

Thought to Ponder
Reliance on God enables me to match calamity with serenity.
 

AA-related 'Alconym'
F A I T H  =  Found Always In Trusting Him.

A Member Shares:
Good Morning, my name is Isabella and I am an alcoholic. When I was drinking, life felt like one tsunami after another. I lived in the delusion that if I could just get through this "problem" life will be smooth sailing. Of course that never happened because drinking was causing most of the problems, along with my "mistaken attitude, powered by alcohol," and as I have accepted, "trouble is really a fact of life for everybody." Three years ago today was my last drunk, I only realized that after taking this meeting, God's Providence. I asked a lady to take me through the steps, post haste, I knew I wouldn't stay sober unless I did the work I was being asked to do. Thank God for her, this meeting and all of you. At 10 weeks sober my son died, totally unexpected and so fast. We went to the ER on a Saturday evening and he died on Monday. There are no words in our language to describe the pain. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, ever. The torment of alcoholism pales. At the same time one of my daughters was in the grips of fentanyl addiction, she was becoming skeletal, I was so far beyond being able to bear reality. ONLY a loving God could save me. He has. Three months after Daniel died, my daughter asked for help, and she went into treatment. Do I believe those 2 events are connected? Absolutely, but more importantly so does she. She is clean and sober 2 1/2 years, and she chairs a weekly meeting at that same treatment center. Only with time and God's saving grace have my family been able to accept reality, the pain is always there, however with that has come "unimagined blessings." Peace beyond understanding, appreciation and gratitude for Daniel's life, for our 3 daughters, healing our battered marriage, and a closeness we could not have experienced otherwise. In the second verse of the Serenity prayer is the line: "Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace." Acceptance can be a long process, but God heals and helps us, in His way in His time...and peace settles in. As Bill W. said, this is the AA story, and we become a part of it. Thank you for letting me share.

To respond to the sharer, please email dtshare@aa-alive.org and it will be forwarded to them.
(All shares are reproduced with the kind permission of the person sharing)
 

Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Grateful to serve,
peyton