Willingness was the key that opens the door, which lead to the path of sobriety and serenity. Willingness is what enabled me to re-discover my Higher Power, God. Willingness opened my mind and my heart to all the lessons I needed to grow and to change – to become the child God always knew was there, searching for a way out of the insanity of my disease. Willingness brought me to a place of “rigorous honesty,” it brought me through the fear of rejection, the fear of failure, and the fear of being just who I am – Bonnie, alcoholic.
The members stepped right up and told me amazing stories. They loved me until I could love myself. All that was needed of me was honesty, openness, and willingness. . . these three things lead me to the actions I found in working the Steps. The Twelve Steps have led me to the answers I have been seeking all my life. This is a continuing and life-long process of change and discovery. It has been likened to an onion – whereby we peal the layers off, one layer at a time. In the core of this onion – I will find my true self – the self I lost so long ago, the self that has been restored to me. It’s like spiritually my program has been “restored” to an earlier time, like I do once in a while to my computer. I have restored my soul, I have restored my life, and I have restored my faith in my Higher Power, God.
THIS24 