Step Three is Only a Beginning

After twenty-eight years of mind-obliterating alcoholism, I finally attended my first AA meeting. Within a few weeks, I became capable of memorizing the Third Step Prayer that I had positioned on my refrigerator door. I would repeat it quite often throughout the day. My idea was that in so doing, I was turning my will, and my life, over to God . . . then, He would remove my problem—and that would be that!

This erroneous notion was justified by an overwhelming new happiness—please spell that (A. A. h-o-n-e-y-m-o-o-n). After all, my phone was ringing off the hook and I had new AA friends galore! Of course, I was surviving on the fellowship by keeping my telephone real hot and attending meetings every chance I had (I believe that was necessary because, otherwise, I would have headed right back to the bar room).

I thought this groovy-groovy (that was an expression back then) feeling was going to provide permanent protection from king alcohol, so I had sort of short-shrimped the rest of the steps and waited for that persistent nagging mental obsession to disappear. Well, it didn’t! I was six-months sober and just after a parade on Hollywood Blvd, I marched into a bar and almost ordered a drink! I didn’t, but I was so terrified that I found a new sponsor to take me through the rest of the steps, el pronto.

The Big Book speaks of the Great Reality (God) deep within (p. 55). I believe this means I need to delve deep into my subconscious self by working the rest of the Twelve Steps with a sponsor. I believe that Step Three was only a beginning. This was only carried out by learning to do steps Four through Nine with my heart (not just my head), then continuing to put these directions into action by living in the spirit of Steps Ten, Eleven and Twelve. By the bye, the last three steps include the essential elements of the first nine.

At some point during the first year or so of my new-found sobriety, I experienced a release from all obsession to drink; inexplicably it no longer exists in my emotional vocabulary! However, I am convinced that if I lose contact with the “Great Reality deep within,” I will be back where I started—or worse!

By Bob S., Richmond, IN