There are friends we play with as in
sports and dancing - this is purely a plea-
sure plane. Then we have friends in our
professions and jobs - this is a slightly
higher plane of common interests. Next
is the identity and intellectual plane
where we share each others favorite
topics. But the highest and most beauti-
ful plane of friendship is one on which
we share the same spiritual quest.

We have the glory, through this fel-
lowship, of experiencing immediate com-
munion and intimacy with our people
wherever we go. Such friendships last as
long as the solution which is our common
bond.

Lord, I thank You for the blessing of a
world full of friends who share my spiri-
tual purpose.

I will offer my friendship today to:

Whoever reaches out to me, and I will offer too this friendship to myself. I came to AA because I had nowhere else to go. I had tried everything I could think of, to stop myself from drinking and to somehow break out of the utter hell that I lived in, which was my life. Besides being free TODAY of the shackles of alcohol, of fear, of desperation, of hate and of darkness, the most valuable gift that I have received through AA, is true friends in my life.

Lonliness, and a feeling of being left out on my own in the cold, was the most devastating aspect of my life before recovery. It is something which hounds me still, but not to the acute extent as it did before. I suppose all humans feel an inner lonliness, a yearning for oneness, a yearning to feel whole, and we search all over the place for something to fill this void, mostly not realizing that this space, this hole, is the exact shape of Higher Power. Only Higher Power can can fill this gap. This inner void is "reserved" space, reserved for the one LOVE which can and will, still this hunger and quench this thirst.

A priest once was talking to me about confession. I had asked him why it is necessary to go to confession to ask for forgiveness, why couldn't I just ask God for forgiveness, if I am truly sorry, in my own room, or in the middle of a beautiful green field. He told me to think about the lines of the cross. The vertical line representing my relationship with God, and the horizontal line representing my relationship with my brothers and sisters. Both lines are needed for the complete picture of unconditional love.

I often think of this explanation, which was given to me many, many years ago. I mostly think about it when I am at meetings. Throughout my years of drinking, I never completely lost my faith in God (a miracle in itself) and feel I have always had a relationship with the God of my understanding. But with myself and other human beings, I had a huge problem. I had no trust. Not of myself and certainly not of anyone else. I had often been naively open with strangers, but I know I never really trusted. I'm still working on this. AA has given me a home, where I can learn how to have relationships with other people. My life had been blessed by the lines of the Sign of the Cross.

Thank you for keeping me clean and sober today

Peace be with you all

Isaiah 49: 18

Lift up your eyes round about and
see;
they all gather, they come to
you.
As I live, says the Lord,
you shall put them all on as an
ornament,
you shall bind them on as a bride
does.

Tags: Alpha Omega One Love