From the Original Manuscript;

Our description of the alcoholic, the chapter to the agnostic, and our personal adventures before and after, have been designed to sell you three pertinent ideas:

(a) That you are alcoholic and cannot manage your own life.

(b) That probably no human power can relieve your alcoholism.

(c) That God can and will.

If you are not convinced on these vital issues, you ought to re-read the book to this point or else throw it away!

That’s right – if you’re unconvinced, throw the book away! And we should practice stroking feathers in recovery? I doubt it.

This is what we need to get straight;

This is the how and why of it. First of all, quit playing God yourself. It doesn’t work. Next, decide that hereafter in this drama of life, God is going to be your Director. He is the Principal; you are to be His agent. He is the Father, and you are His child. Get that simple relationship straight. Most good ideas are simple and this concept is to be the keystone of the new and triumphant arch through which you will pass to freedom.

When you sincerely take such a position, all sorts of remarkable things follow. You have a new Employer. Being all powerful, He must necessarily provide what you need, if you keep close to Him and perform His work well. Established on such a footing you become less and less interested in yourself, your little plans and designs. More and more you become interested in seeing what you can contribute to life. As you feel new power flow in, as you enjoy peace of mind, as you discover you can face life successfully, as you become conscious of His presence, you begin to lose your fear of today, tomorrow, or the hereafter. You will have been reborn.

Post from: Blisstree

If You’re Not Convinced

Considering Bill Wilson was in an alcoholic stupor, I doubt he really perceived it this way until much later.

From page 196 of “The Language of the Heart” Bill tells us;

“In the late summer of 1934, my well-loved alcoholic friend and schoolmate, Ebbie, had fallen in with these good folks (the Oxford Group) and had promptly sobered up. Being an alcoholic, and rather on the obstinate side, he hadn’t been able to ‘buy’ all the Oxford group ideas and attitudes. Nevertheless, he was moved by their deep sincerity and felt mighty grateful for the fact that their ministrations had, for the time being, lifted his obsession to drink.”

First Things First. We all know that Ebbie’s obsession returned. That is a fact to be paid attention to. Secondly, Ebbie didn’t buy into all the group ideas. I think that is probably understandable. I’ve been around long enough to know that there are ideas that creep in (yep, the disease is alive) and influence some while others don’t buy in. For ex., last night I heard someone say that they heard in a meeting that no one has the “right” to pray for others. That is pure insanity and whoever (if it is factual) is spreading that crap, needs a reality check. I don’t have the right to pray for my family? I don’t think so and don’t ever attempt to force that on me.

So – Bill Wilson identifies unknowingly;

When he arrived in New York in the late fall of 1934, Ebbie thought at once of me. On a bleak November day he rang me up. Soon he was looking at me across our kitchen table at 182 Clinton Street, Brooklyn, New York. As I remember that conversation, he constantly used phrases like these:

“I found I couldn’t run my own life,”
“I had to get honest with myself and somebody else,”
“I had to make restitution for the damage I had done,”
“I had to pray to God for guidance and strength, even though I wasn’t sure there was any God,”
“And after I’d tried hard to do these things I found that my craving for alcohol left.”

Then over and over, Ebbie would say something like this: “Bill, it isn’t a bit like being on the water-wagon. You don’t fight the desire to drink – you get released from it. I never had such a feeling before.”

As Bill says later those words “hit me like tons of bricks.”

(You can see the original kitchen table here at the Stepping Stones web site. About halfway down the page.)

Post from: Blisstree

Across The Kitchen Table