Daily Reflection

MAY 9
WALKING THROUGH FEAR
If we still cling to something we will not let go, we ask God
to help us be willing.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76
When I had taken my Fifth Step, I became aware that all my
defects of character stemmed from my need to feel secure
and loved. To use my will alone to work on them would have
been trying obsessively to solve the problem. In the Sixth
Step I intensified the action I had taken in the first three
Steps—meditating on the Step by saying it over and over,
going to meetings, following my sponsor's suggestions,
reading and searching within myself. During the first three
years of sobriety I had a fear of entering an elevator alone.
One day I decided I must walk through this fear. I asked for
God's help, entered the elevator, and there in the corner was
a lady crying. She said that since her husband had died she
was deathly afraid of elevators. I forgot my fear and
comforted her. This spiritual experience helped me to see
how willingness was the key to working the rest of the
Twelve Steps to recovery. God helps those who help
themselves.