I had a sponsor tell me one time “that whatever is between you and your sobriety has to go.” That meant anything and everything. If you are working too many hours to make ends meet but you are so tired and stressed from it that you are closer to a drink than you have been in a long time then the job has to go. It doesn’t mean you don’t have to work. It means the schedule has to be addressed to free you from the stress. You can make more meetings, work a lighter schedule ( or get a different job ) and you’ll have a better chance of staying sober.

I went back to school in 2013. It was cardiovascular sonography school. I did real well and had A’s and B’s. It was stressful, and extremely hard. I missed my daughter and husband so much – I was doing nothing but studying and was not  attending ANY AA meetings. When the time came for internships to start I did 2 rounds and realized it was just not for me and I was overwhelmed. I had been sober 13 years at that point. One day I left the hospital and on the way home I stopped at a gas station with intentions of buying a 6 pack. I just knew it would take away my frustrations and stress. Luckily, I sat there long enough to remember a few AA slogans. “Easy does it”; First things First”; “One day at a time”. I reached into my glove compartment and found a meeting pamphlet. I called the number and there was a meeting starting real close by in 20 minutes. I made it to the meeting and stayed sober. I did not become a sonographer, and I didn’t finish school. It was getting between me and my sobriety so it had to go. Had I drank I would have lost everything. Just not worth it. This devotion hit home for me today…..

A.A. Thought for the Day 

Everyone who comes into A.A. knows from bitter experience that he or she can’t drink. I know that drinking has been the cause of all my major troubles or has made them worse. Now that I have found a way out, I will hang on to A.A. with both hands. Saint Paul once said that nothing in the world, neither powers nor principalities, life nor death, could separate him from the love of God. Once I have given my drink problem to God, should anything in the world separate me from my sobriety?

Twenty-Four Hours a Day…