Never Give Up, Never Surrender | 勿れ ギブアップ | Operor Non Redono Pro Narro ut Deus

'THE MOST INSANE THING I CAN DO...

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IS TO STOP TRYING'.

-David J. on the Disciplines of Steps 10,11 & 12

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"The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it."
-Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 83

"Time after time, this apparent calamity has been a boon to us, for it opened up a path which led to the discovery of God."

-Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 116

"We are not saints.  The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines."
-Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 83

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|...day 83/90 and I return to the clubhouse tonight.  Now that I am 'digesting some pretty big chunks of truth' about myself, the biggest truth I have to face is that my personal spiritual discipline is not what it cold be.  There's no denying it - the disciplines of steps 10, 11 and 12 are sorely lacking in my life, and I need to focus on the three things that matter most in God's universe - God first, others second and myself last.  My sponsor calls this the 'divine pecking order'.

To show you how far off the mark I am, yesterday while discussing discipline with a close friend of mine, I was reminded of the old (non-AA approved) saw that goes:  "...just for today, I will have a program;  I may not follow it, but I will have it'.  Much to my chagrin, I heard somebody from the podium quote what I had been agonizing over all day long - that my inventory is on the table and I am coming up way short.

The good news is I have steps 10, 11 and 12 to get me back on the path; the path that really goes somewhere.  Like my first day in AA, I get to keep trying, for one day I just may get it right.  Like my sponsor always tells me "...the most insane thing I can ever do is to stop trying'". That's all AA is to me - a place where I keep trying.  He also says - and this is why I am so big on Angels - "...a saint is nothing more than a sinner who never stops trying".

I'll say it again - I didn't earn my seat in AA - I earned a pine box in Potter's field.  Thank God I never get what I deserve.

COG,1st Cl...|