The following is a personal story from one of our members.
In a meeting I heard another member share:
In a meeting I heard another member share:
Despair as quickly as possible of coming up with a better way to recover than the sober people have.
It's got to be a symptom of this crazy disease that so many addicts will do just about anything but what is necessary to gain sobriety. I did exactly that myself. That is until I finally gave up in despair.
For me, the journey to finally surrendering to God and the 12 Step program of SA started way back in 1989. I believe that is the year I first went to a thriving meeting of SA in the Chicago area. There was plenty of sobriety even then in that room, but I also kept those "sober fanatics" at arms length, and opted for my own "design it yourself" program. I was too proud and too lazy to do it anyone else's way. An "easier, softer way" would suit me just fine, thank you very much.
But I didn't stay sober. And I didn't have recovery and serenity and peace and freedom from the obsessions and compulsions.
Despair, yes I needed to despair. Pain is an amazingly powerful teacher and motivator.
Fast-forward to today, and I no longer live in pain and despair. I don't have to act out today. I have freedom from the obsessions and compulsions. I don't have to be a slave to lust any more. I am connected to a Power greater than myself. And God does for me what I can't do for myself.
And all that has happened because I finally despaired of doing it my way, and instead surrendered and worked the 12 Steps under the direction of a sponsor as the path to a spiritual awakening that has connected me rightly to God and others.
