Do the Stitches and Leave the Pattern up to God
This blog entry gives a summary of episode 188- Tim H Do the Stitches and Leave the Pattern up to God
Tim is a man who exemplified insanity. He married the same woman 4x, got into 5 major accidents, was cut up with a beer bottle, shot at, admitted to the “nut house” 3 times, and lost $250,000 and thought he was doing ok!
He was raised Irish Catholic. In his family, if anyone turned down a drink it was because they didn’t understand the question! Tim started drinking when he was 16 and continued for 27 years. His dream was to have a basketball career but it was derailed due to alcohol.
He dodged a Vietnam draft by trying to enter law school. He took the entrance exam but failed so he asked another guy who was very bright to tutor him. Overconfident, Tim drank before his second attempt at the test. He figured he’d fail again so he paid his tutor to do the exam for him. When the final mark came back it was the highest score the university had ever had! Tim knew he’d have to confess to the Dean.
The alcoholic’s lies don’t get him out of trouble. They dig the hole deeper!
Everyone knew his life was unmanageable but him. His first moment of clarity came twenty years before he started AA but he wasn’t ready yet.
We have to hit our bottom. We have to come to the end of ourselves. We have to admit we are powerless over alcohol.
In 1990, his health was deteriorating where he thought he was having a heart attack. He went into work anyway but found it unusually quiet there.
It’s in the solitude that truth is revealed.
Tim knew he had to get help. He went to his first AA meeting that day and never looked back.
His life has changed. It’s no longer just about him but about helping others. He’s found restoration with his wife and is enjoying his family. He’s found that helping others in AA helps keep him sober. Tim received some good advice, “Keep a drunk in front of you at all times”. It could be your sponsor or another person needing to get sober... Or yourself in the mirror.
Tim has found strength in being a sponsor. Anyone will do! No judgment of race, color, or creed.
"Be available “ he [Tim] says.
Don’t worry about the details.
Keep it simple.
Do the basics.
Do the Stitches and Leave the Pattern up to God
God brings about the transformation. It’s His job. Not ours.
Let Go and Let God!