Daily Reflection

NOVEMBER 19
"I WAS SLIPPING FAST"
We A.A.'s are active folk, enjoying the satisfactions of
dealing with the realities of life, . . . So it isn't surprising
that we often tend to slight serious meditation and prayer as
something not really necessary.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 96
I had been slipping away from the program for some time,
but it took a death threat from a terminal disease to bring
me back, and particularly to the practice of the Eleventh
Step of our blessed Fellowship. Although I had fifteen years
of sobriety and was still very active in the program, I knew
that the quality of my sobriety had slipped badly. Eighteen
months later, a checkup revealed a malignant tumor and a
prognosis of certain death within six months. Despair
settled in when I enrolled in a rehab program, after which I
suffered two small strokes which revealed two large brain
tumors. As I kept hitting new bottoms I had to ask myself
why this was happening to me. God allowed me to recognize
my dishonesty and to become teachable again.
Miracles began to happen. But primarily I relearned the
whole meaning of the Eleventh Step. My physical condition
has improved dramatically, but my illness is minor
compared to what I almost lost completely.