One Day at a Time in Al-Anon:
Someone at an Al-Anon meeting said: “My wife has been around AA for ten years, and has never made a first anniversary. She almost completes the year, and then something happens that sets her off to drinking again. It may not last more than a few days, but these repeated lapses are so frustrating that I wonder if she’ll ever make it.”
This is a problem Al-Anon is well able to solve. It was pointed out to him that the long periods of sobriety were cause for rejoicing; that he should appreciate the earnest effort his spouse made to stay sober, and not condemn her lapses. And above all, that the problem is not his, but hers, and does not have to affect his life as an individual.
Today’s Reminder:
Too often I take the alcoholic’s struggles unto myself and feel that I should be able to do something about them. When I find myself slipping into this God-like attitude, I’ll do a little concentrating on the First Step — “admitted we were powerless…”
“Why art thou troubled because things do not succeed with thee according to thy desire?
Who is there who hath all things according to his will?
Neither I, nor thou, nor any man upon earth.”
— Thomas A’Kempis