A Power Higher Than I
After trying everything else, Shelly was present for her first Alcoholics
Anonymous meeting. Skeptical and listening half- heartedly at first, the
words of Martha caught her attention. Martha told the group, "I just knew
that I could handle alcohol and my other problems on my own, but I couldn’t.
Seven years ago I came to my first A.A. meeting and since that time I have
grown as a person beyond anything I could have ever imagined."
Martha exuded confidence and depth. She spoke of a power "higher than I,"
the God of Jesus Christ, and the way in which God now lived at the center of
her life. Her words oozed with sincere encouragement and concern. Most of
all, Martha exhibited a thankfulness which words could not express. Shelly,
who came to the meeting doubtful that anything she would hear would change
the way she felt or thought, made her way to Martha when the meeting was
over. "I want what you have," Shelly told Martha, "I want what you have."
Shelly wanted the compassion and depth and hope which Martha knew, but she
may not have realized fully how Martha came to know those things. Martha
learned compassion from a time of deep personal suffering. She acquired
spiritual depth from hours of praying when there was nowhere else to turn.
She discovered hope by taking one step at a time because "one day at a time"
was too much to be expected.
Shelly said, "I
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