Recovery

Recovery

With the bricks of Unity and the mortar of Service to build our sobriety, we need a strong foundation to lay those bricks; that foundation is Recovery.

Recovery is a word of many meanings. Most people when hearing it think of “a return to a normal state of health, mind or strength.” (New Oxford American Dictionary) This is true when speaking about alcoholism, but it certainly isn’t the entirety of what we mean when speaking of recovery. There is another definition to the word, “the action or process of regaining possession or control of something stolen or lost.” (New Oxford American Dictionary) These two definitions combined offer a more complete meaning of what Recovery from alcoholism actually is. The men of Matt Talbot group 113 certainly like to focus on the process or, in another term the Steps, because that is the strong bedrock foundation upon which we build our sobriety.

When many of us first encountered the steps we viewed them with trepidation, bewilderment, apprehension, skepticism and demoralization. How could a list like that help us stay sober?! We felt we were the subject of a cruel joke. Nevertheless, in a “moment of clarity” we decided to try it; after all, everything we had attempted before had failed. Though we weren’t aware of it we had been given a Grace, a gift of a small amount of willingness combined with an honest image of ourselves and a realization that we couldn’t stop drinking. We looked around, saw that others here in this place had stopped and were happy. They were laughing and joyful! We asked ourselves, “How is this possible, could it be that this list works?” We asked for a sponsor and got started, admitting our powerlessness over king alcohol.

We moved along through 1,2 and 3 “Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly” and stopped relying on ourselves and started relying on a Higher Power, of our understanding, we noticed one day the craving, desire and obsession to drink was almost non existent or completely gone.
Overjoyed, we gained the confidence to face the terror of Steps 4 and 5 only to realize that this terror was a phantasmic bogeyman with no power against an honest willingness to change. Step 6, “separates the men from the boys” and we chose to be men. Relying on our Higher Power we ran through 6, 7 and 8 doing the work of 8 and 9 with deliberate contemplation and as thoroughly as possible, asking our sponsors for guidance. We found a true freedom in making amends for our past actions, taking care not to hurt others in the process for the sake of emotional euphoria. Moving through 10, 11 and 12 we found that our lives had changed beyond our wildest dreams. This was a whole new life and way of living, not just a subtle change in our
past life. We had forged a bond with our Higher Power and he Graced us with a daily reprieve from our malady based upon our willingness to nurture that bond.

In this retreat movement we are all at different stages and phases of our journey through sobriety. During our retreats and after we come together as brothers to lend a hand to those who need it getting through the steps. To learn from one another how we have forged this great relationship with our Higher Power. To lift each other up in prayer and to help us forge even stronger bonds with our Higher Power and each other. This is the whole point of our retreats, to form and maintain the strongest bond possible with our Higher Power. We use the tools given to us in A.A.’s 12 Steps and work with one another to lay a sturdy and strong foundation of Recovery upon which to build our whole new way of living using our bricks of Unity and mortar of Service. With a helping hand and love from our brothers, an honest desire to change and complete reliance on our Higher power time and time again King Alcohol was conquered and we were changed. Our reward… comradery, companionship, selflessness, family, love and a Higher Power we could rely on for all things. In other words a life that at one point we never could have imagined.
With the transformation begun, we wanted more and jumped in deeper. Working the program with our sponsors showed us how to lead others through the program. We became sponsors ourselves, giving freely of our time. Sharing our experience, strength, and hope with newcomers, we would be honest about alcoholism. Doing for others what was so freely done for us, without the thought of compensation was the antithesis of our thinking when we were actively in our addiction.
The brothers of Matt Talbot Group 113 extend this type of service to one another. We’ve all been there. We know that no matter how long you’ve been around, eventually life is going to throw a curve at you that you just can’t hit. We help one another, advise one another, reach out to one another, love one another… We serve one another and become brothers.