ABCs of Recovery

[MajestyJo]

A is for Acceptance. I had to accept that I was an alcoholic. I had to accept that I needed help. I had to accept that the program would work for me. I had to accept that there was a power greater than me. I had to accept that it was a spiritual program, not a religious one. It was a program that included ALL religious beliefs. Leave no one outside the circle, everyone deserve recovery. It is the God of YOUR understanding. My God may not work for you or I would loan Him to you.

[dwmoeller]

B is for Be

Be Active - Don't just sit around. Idle time will kill you.

Be good to yourself. You deserve it. Don't be so hard on yourself

[MajestyJo]

C is for Courage. When I can't find it within myself, I go to my Higher Power and ask for His Help. He doesn't come down and kick me in the but and say, get going, but it can feel like it. It can be a mental and emotional change or He may send someone or something else to deliver His message.

I can't, my God can, Just for Today, I choose to let Him.

[dwmoeller]

D is for Don't Rush!

Progress is made One Day at a Time...not 10 years in a day!

[MajestyJo]

E is for Everything. What do you need to change? My sponsor told me everything! He also told me to the exact opposite of what I have been doing, and I just may make it right.

[dwmoeller]

F is for Fear

Face
Everything
And
Recover

[MajestyJo]

G is for Good. Look for the good in someone. Every thing or one are not all bad. Don't judge. Give them a chance. God is good. Good is God. Let your Goodness show.

[MajestyJo]

H is for Handle. God and I can handle anything that comes our way. My God is bigger than any situation that I may experience in life's journey. There are lesson to learn, experience to live through, but through it all I have hope, because I know my God is with me as I work my way to the other side.

[dwmoeller]

I is for "I"

This is not an "I" program. It is a "we" program. You are never alone. If you feel that you are on your own, pick up the phone and call a fellow alcoholic or better yet, go to a meeting. There is fellowship in these rooms.

[MajestyJo]

J is for Joy. We are promised joy, happiness, and freedom. How can we not enjoy this second chance at life. The day is what we make it. It is what we choose it to be. If we choose to let go and let God, we can have a day of freedom for worry and the burden of our past. We will be happy to have the burden lifted. Express your joy to the Creator, who made all things beautiful.

[MajestyJo]

K is for Key. The key to recovery is willingness. We must be willing to go to any length to maintain our sobriety. The key for me was a willingness to go to meetings. I had to shut up and listen, and through the people in the rooms, I was shown how to work my program and how not to work my program. The key person in my life was my sponsor. As one of them said, "I don't care who your Higher Power is as long as it is not you."

[MajestyJo]

L is for Laughter. What surprised me the most when I walked into the rooms of recovery, was the laughter. I didn't think I was an alcoholic, but I heard that laughter and I wanted what they had. I would go to meetings and say, "I have a desire not to drink today." I truly didn't because I didn't want to go back to where I came from and I knew that alcohol was a part of it. I looked at it more from the standpoint of the people around me. Last laugh on me, I qualified and then some. I just had to learn to identify, not compare.

[MajestyJo]

M is for Motion. If you are not in motion, working your steps and working with others in some form or other doing service, then there is a good chance of you becoming complacent and that is a major sign of slipping back into old ways, hopefully not to where you came from. Our drug of choice was more, we need to change that into doing more work on my recovery.

[MajestyJo]

N is for Newbie. We are so glad you are here. Without you, we would not be here. We need you as much as you may need us. I try to go to each meeting with a newbie's state of mind, open to learning and willing to do what ever it takes to maintain my recovery in today.

Thank you for doing my research for me. You carry a great message. It isn't any better out there, and now I don't have to go and do some research for myself.

[MajestyJo]

O is for Open Mind. It is so easy to keep an open mind when everyone agrees with us. We have to learn to listen and take what we need and leave the rest on the shelf.

We each have our own way of doing things, but many times we have to agree to disagree.