How You Can Surrender To Win

And feel good about it, too

Are you ready to finally get the peace of mind and serenity that has eluded you so far? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? I know that I was and here is what I did to become happy, joyous, and free.

It is right for you? I don’t know. I will explain in simple terms what I did to beat the blues and become genuinely happy, for maybe the first time in my life.

A lot of what I did came from the program of AA. The amazing thing is that we all come from different places in our lives but some remedies that fit us perfectly can be used by any of us.

Step 3 says: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

When I came into the AA Program, I had no religious training or experiences and, to put a label on me then, it would probably be agnostic. I didn’t want to get hit in the head with a bible and hear about Jesus Saves and similar thoughts.

So, when I heard others say that this was not a religious program but it was a spiritual program, I thought that I would listen. After all, I was willing to do anything to get out of the depths of suicidal depression that I was in.

Then, I balked when I heard the Lord’s Prayer at the end of meetings, The Serenity Prayer, and the other prayers that were talked about quite freely. I heard members, some of whom I had known before they joined AA as some of the Baddest Dudes in Detroit, tell me to “Sit down, shut up, and listen!” They also told me “Fake it ‘till you make it.”

So, what did I do? I sat down, shut up, listened, and did a lot of faking. These others I just spoke of said that they were going to be my sponsors and didn’t let me off the hook for anything.

I would balk and they would say Turn it over. I would argue and they would say Turn it over. I would hesitate and they would say Turn it over. Anything that was not positive that came out of my mouth or actions they would DEMAND Turn it over.

I had been kicking my own butt emotionally for so long that I could not remember ever feeling peaceful and/or serene. I had been told in Step 2 that all that I had to believe in was that there was a power greater than me.

So, I dipped my toe into the waters of faking it ‘till I would hopefully make it. The next thing that I did was I faked believing in a Higher Power beyond the individuals that I was meeting and seeing and said “Take it.”

Simply “Take it.” I noticed, almost immediately, things easing up. What does an addictive person like me do when he gets a little bit of anything, he wants more.

So I started turning everything over and began to believe that there was a Power of some kind that was really working, not only for others but also for me.

By turning everything over, and I mean everything, I was also realizing that even Pagans must believe in something, even if it was a dead planet, so I decided to call my Higher Power God.

A dictionary definition of God is “a superhuman being or spirit worshiped as having power over nature or human fortunes.”

Then it became “God, help me” to do everything. God help me to take a good walk. God help me to get through this day sober. God help me to know when to walk the dog. God help me do the next right thing.

Very soon, I noticed that I did not even think of taking a drink for longer periods and was actually feeling much better about myself. The more help that I asked for the better my life became.

I was becoming comfortable with being me and this led to my finding that the a-holes that I had thought that I was surrounded by were mostly pretty good people, or at least more tolerable.

I had been advised by my original sponsors that, whenever I was not feeling right, anxious, fearful, or hateful; simply investigate to discover where I was not working my Program right.

As I would go through the 12 Steps, I would be stopped by Step 3 because this feeling of unease was because I was taking my life back after turning it over.

I don’t believe that I ever found another answer. So, today, whenever I feel out of sorts or have any problems, I look into what part of my life I took back and say “God, help me.”

This is the latest example of the AA Program being a very simple program for very complicated folks. Notice again that I did not say that it is always easy but all I have to do is look for the simple answer and not delve any deeper. This makes me truly happy, joyous, and free.

If I can do it, so can you. So, when you are feeling out of sorts at all, simply and humbly ask your Higher Power to help you. Then get out of Its way and let it.

This is how I learned to surrender, turn it over, to win. Nothing fancy or complicated. I simply say “God, help me.” Then I get out of his way and let Him work without my guidance.

Thank you, God!

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