January 4 - Trust God, Clean House, Help Others

 The words I pulled from my god box this morning was Help Others. The first thing that comes to mind when I see that is sponsorship. There is a phrase in our program that says trust god, clean house, help others. It's common knowledge that we cannot transmit something we don't have; we can't heal a sick mind with a sick mind. So, first we need to see that our own house is in order before we can try to fix another's house. Before we begin to work on ourselves, it's suggested that we allow god or a higher power to enter our lives to offer us guidance. In the book Alcoholics Anonymous, in a passage on meditation, it says before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking. The same applies with helping others. Before we begin, we ask god for guidance. Everything is connected; the trick is finding the dots.

I have been sober for 24 years but I still go to a fair bit of meetings. Bill W, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous once wrote "we meet frequently so that newcomers will find the fellowship they crave". I attend meetings frequently with the newcomer in mind. I even have a small group started so that newcomers, and others, can read the big book and study it because the suggested twelve step recovery program is within its pages, waiting for eager minds to grasp it.