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Source: Sister I. – Desire, Decision and Determination (Edited Address; Source Label 1963).mp3 File: sister-i-desire-decision-determination-edited-address-source-1963.mp3 Duration: 00:32:28
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I'm going to say a little prayer. [Prayer; opening words unclear.] Give me [unclear] to know thy will, O God, and strengthen me to do it. Prepare my heart to meet thy love, and [unclear]. Amen. I'd like to ask each one of you to tell me just why you were here. I'll probably get the answer a little later in the day. Stop and think. Are you here because someone just pushed you in here, or because you wanted to get out of some difficulty?
Probably your wife was nagging [unclear]. Maybe that your boss warned you that it was time that you quit drinking. Maybe no one had said anything. Probably you just, with the grace of God, realized that you were getting nowhere by this treatment. If you [unclear], examine yourself, and think of the money you have thrown down the drain, which probably should have gone, or been, to a much better, a much better [unclear].
I'm sure that you'll begin to see that this is a must. If you intend to keep on living. You probably have given up drinking for some time, for years. And there's no alcohol at all in [unclear] system. Then you go back on it, and you're still an alcoholic. You'll take more than you should. An alcoholic never drinks moderately. But the more he drinks, the more he wants to. So, very often it becomes an acute cirrhosis. You know a cirrhosis of the liver, [unclear]. Liver damage is a serious thing.
The liver, it's a storage house of the body. However, if you want this [unclear] to work, you must give it everything. Your very best. Don't get the notion, well, if I don't get it here, I can go somewhere else. Or I can get it at a later date. There are three Ds that we usually stress. We have a very fine member, Jack C. is his name, [unclear]. He was in his 23rd year when he died. And he always spoke of the three Ds as a very necessary qualification.
First of all, a sincere desire, isn't that what it is? A sincere desire for survival. And to be the person you always wanted to be. You didn't want to keep going up and down and up and down, and gradually you got to the last [unclear]. There aren't many of you that have gotten a skid row. Although, someone said the other day, skid rows in your head. [Unclear], oh, what's the difference? I might just as well keep on drinking.
And sometimes you think, well, what if I do die? That'll end it all. Well, don't be too sure about it. Because when you come to die, you're not a bit ready. You'd like to have a little more time.
[00:05:01]
But a sincere desire is the first D. Because that desire is at the bottom of your heart. Most everything that you do, if you have a sincere desire, you will accomplish. From the time you were a little child if there was something you really wanted, you did everything to accomplish it. Even in a childlike way. [Unclear] the thing you wanted to have, or you would do everything to gain that accomplished desire.
But as you've grown older, you still have pretty, pretty important desires. Well, this is the most important one, because your life depends on it. And your happiness for time and eternity depends on the accomplishment of this sincere desire. That is the first D. Desire [unclear]. If you have a real, ardent desire, that's a very good qualification. The second D is decision. Decide now what you're going to do and when. Not next month, next week. Now is the acceptable time.
Don't dally with that thought. Don't put off your intention to change your brand, as I say. Your liquor. But not only the liquor, but everything. Your whole mode of life changes. [Unclear] fellowship with the same old companions, and do the same thing that you have been doing in all probability within a short time [unclear]. That's why we try to build up a new fellowship here, so that you'll find plenty of friends, good friends who do not drink.
You would see yourself that the idea of getting out of your environment, getting away from your old companions, and from all these irritating situations, and being placed in a new environment, and everything different, different people, and we gradually taper you off. Then we give you the AA philosophy. [Unclear], but you must be strong before you accept that, because if you're still doing alcoholic things, [unclear].
So we devote most of our time, for the first 24 hours at least, to 48 hours, in getting you into physical condition. The doctor gives you a thorough physical examination, and you are x-rayed if necessary. We do a cardiogram, get blood counts and all that. So by the end of 48 hours, the doctor has a pretty good idea whether you have some other serious illness or something that would need immediate treatment rather than just the alcohol.
Generally, the alcohol covers up everything. [Unclear] yourself and [unclear] another drink. But however, under the expert supervision of our medical men, we figure out just what the situation is. You probably neglected your health for a long time. You wouldn't go to a doctor. He might ask you to stop drinking. So you [unclear].
[00:10:01]
Generally, people can, such as this man who came the other day, haven't been near a doctor for [unclear], [unclear] drinking. And they just don't like to go to a doctor. On the other hand, some of them go to a doctor and exaggerate their symptoms so that he doesn't know just how to treat them. The doctor doesn't like to take care of an alcoholic because he can't get the truth. Sometimes he'll give them sedatives, tranquilizers, things of that kind.
Generally, though, a doctor who knows something about this alcoholism will not give them medicine of that type because they still become addicted to it. Well, however, the second D is decision. Make a decision. It's what you do today that counts, not tomorrow. Tomorrow isn't yours yet. Yesterday is gone. Concentrate on today and try to do it today. I have a little poem here to point out. Today is all sufficient for the burdens we must bear.
Today is ours to live, to love, our brother's sorrows share. Tomorrow never comes to us, and yesterday is gone. Therefore, today is all time we have to build upon. Tomorrow is as far away [unclear]. So put your shoulder to the wheel and do the things you've dreamed of today. Just one day, they ask you to live just 24 hours. Live hour by hour. If you live well this hour, it'll be easier the next hour.
In the present that counts. All right, the third D, then, is determination. Desire, decision, determination. Please paraphrase the meaning of these words and apply them, and I believe you'll find a lot of help. Determination, oh, [unclear], then I'll never take another drink. I'll never take another drink. I'm finished. Forever is a long, long time. So, today you won't take a drink with God's help.
Ask God to help you. Do you think that he's pleased that you're [unclear] the life that he gave you by living this type of life? I don't know. Make a decision that today you will not take a drink. I'm sure that everyone in this room who's already been tapered off, we do give you the new men, we give them a little to taper them off, but where the trouble is, I mean, many people get withdrawal symptoms.
You can't set yourself off too fast. We don't try to set you off immediately. But don't ever try to taper yourself. If you do, it'll be from one to the other. You'll want to have just one more drink. That's all. By the time that's gone, you'll want just one more. Don't try it. It'd be much better to do it under proper direction. Well, there was a man who I heard of. I didn't meet him. But he was a very heavy drinker, and he was a regular pest as far as his friends were concerned, because he'd spend all his money, and then he'd beg his friends to buy him a drink,
[00:15:05]
just one more, and then I'll go home. Well, they'd buy him a drink, and he'd want another. He kept that up. He'd panhandle, do anything to get a drink. So they got sick and tired of him. Finally, the word went around that he had joined AA. Well, his friends were delighted. [Unclear] have to be buying him [unclear] drink. [Unclear]. Fine. They were delighted, too. When he came out of the hospital, of course, he saw his friends, and he said, Oh, I'm an AA now.
He said, It's wonderful. It's easy. The only thing is, just don't take that first drink. Well, that was easy enough, not to take the first drink. So they said, All right, let's talk it over. We'd like to know how this AA works, too. Let's go in to the old joint, the bar room, and you can get soft drinks. You don't have to drink anything hard liquor or anything. Oh, no, I wouldn't take the first drink.
So they were very happy, celebrating his sobriety. So they ordered up, and they said to Pat, I think was his name, we'll call him Pat anyway. They said, What would you like? Oh, I'll take the soft drink, he said. So the bartender said, All right, Pat, I'll bring you the soft drink. Well, the bartender started off, and Pat called him back. He said, Come here, he said. I'll tell you what you do. Bring me two.
Two what? Two double-headers. What? They said, We thought you quit drinking. Oh, I won't take that first drink. I'll put the first one over here, and then I'll start with the second one. That is determination. Now, don't forget the three things, though. Desire, decision, determination. I'll ask you about those probably one of these fine days. So, do try to put your shoulder in the wheel. Try to do your best.
It pays off. You'll find that you'll share your life with other things. Now, probably it's hard to see what you're going to do. Busy. The main recreation you had was just to get a drink. [Unclear]. [Unclear]. Oh, you don't all have that pattern, but many do. We talk about a coffee break. Well, you have your break. You [unclear] break, so you better change to coffee or something else. [Unclear]. Keep this up.
I'd like to have you do some reading while you're here, too. Read the Alcoholics Anonymous. First of all, whether you'd rather or not, try to read it slowly. Read at least one chapter a day and if you have time, read more. Read especially Chapter 5, How It Works. That's very helpful. And don't put off the important things. Try to develop your life of prayer. Your contact with God.
[00:20:01]
Ask his help. You're all God's children. He loves you. He's created you because he loves you. He has given you many, many gifts. Life, you didn't even ask for. Life you weren't able to ask for. God gave you life. He gave you [unclear] so that you would earn your livelihood. And how many things you've been able to do. [Unclear]. Well, you know better than anyone else. Industry now realizes the detriment it is to have an alcoholic working for them.
He is losing his good judgment, sense of judgment, and he is really a great [unclear] to the company. They speak of one the other day who was in his plant and he [unclear], [unclear], turning out the wrong lever. Could have killed everyone in the plant. And thousands of dollars. Well, of course, they, you won't have a position if you keep this up. However, industry has gone into this and they are very eager to use their men, who've been with them a long time, whose experience is invaluable to them.
They're glad to give them every opportunity to carry out this AA program. In the early days, if we even spoke of anyone drinking or alcoholism, just mention it. The man would lose his job. It's much better to tell your boss the truth. Tell him the facts. [Unclear] advisable, some of these people don't know much about it, but give them some literature. AA and industry. They have many little [unclear].
[Unclear], to sum it all up, I don't have too much time to talk to you now, but I'd like to ask you to say a little prayer every morning before you leave the house, maybe that little prayer that you say will save you from a very serious accident. I have a little poem, I don't recall it all just now, but it says, I got up early one morning and I went right into the day, I had so much to accomplish, I didn't have time to pray.
[Unclear]. Heavier became each problem. Heavier became each task. I wondered why God didn't help me. But a little voice inside said, you didn't even ask. Our Lord has said, ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and you shall be opened up. You don't ask, how do you expect to receive? Well, I got up early this morning, and I paused before entering the day. I had so much to accomplish, I had to take time to pray. And I don't recall a lot of steps, but I'll get it all on these days.
But it's very good. The men who have made this, and the women, have asked sincerely. You know, the following says, oh God help me. God help me, that's all he knew at the time.
[00:25:12]
He had gotten away from God. God give me light, give me strength, give me courage. Just as a reminder, I said, God, [unclear], ask him. One of our men who had been here, speaking, well he came from out of town, but he told me [unclear]. I made one resolution while I was here, that was never to leave the house without saying a little prayer. I tried it, and it has worked. I was going to the bathroom in the morning and locked the door, and kneeled down and said a little prayer.
Kneel, learn to bend your knees instead of your elbows. You'll get much farther. You've been on your elbows for a long time. Bend your knees. Well, you can pray without getting on your knees, I know that. But ask God sincerely to help you. So he said he did that every day. And also in the evening, he thanked God for helping him. So one evening, one of the children was in the bathroom, he couldn't get in.
So he said, what's the difference? I kneeled down by my bedside, which he did. His wife came back in, she shook him, she said, what's wrong? She thought he had a stroke. He said, leave me alone, I'm just saying my prayer. She almost had a stroke then. [Unclear] prayed before. Well, I would like to say much to you, but we'll gradually work with this. Tell me something tomorrow that you've read in your [unclear] book. Something. I'll expect to hear a lot. Are there any questions? I may not be able to answer them all, but I'll try to answer one anyway.
No? Well, think it over and I'll ask you tomorrow. Let's say a little prayer now and we'll call it a day. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. I will say the Our Father and explain to you what it means as far as I can. Our Father who art in Heaven. The Apostles asked [unclear] how to pray. He said, pray thus. Our Father who art in Heaven, God your Father in Heaven, has provided for you and will provide for you.
He is your best friend through all your struggles and your disappointments. Everything you have has come from Him. Our Father who art in Heaven, Heaven is our home. God has created us [unclear] loving and serving in this world, and we'll be happy with Him forever and ever. Hallowed be thy name. That means to honor the name of God. People who curse and swear, bring down curses on their own heads. It's a terrible thing. If your vocabulary is so impoverished that you can't get the attention of anyone, only by swearing and cursing.
[00:30:01]
Leave the thing unsaid, be much better. [Unclear] honor the name of God. Thy kingdom come, the kingdom of God is within you. Lift up your heart to God. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. Surrender to accept God's holy will. Often our disappointment is God's appointment. He deprives us of certain things we think are our heritage. Well, He knows what's best for us. He's going to give us something better. Show Him that you have trust in Him. Dear Lord, if that's what you want, it's all right with me. You know best.
Give us this day our daily bread. That means the strength to earn our daily bread and the opportunity to earn it. And ask His help every day. Thank Him for the wonderful gifts He has given you over the years when you were born, [unclear]. If He hadn't had kind hands there to minister unto you and take care of you and feed you, where would you be today? Give us this day our daily bread. Lead us not into temptation, [Unclear] yourself into temptation. Stay away from them. From the old pals. They're going to say, oh, you're a sissy. If you can't take a drink, what's the matter with you?
Well, you know yourself that you can't stop with one, two, or three. You can't handle the stuff that handles you. So when you run out, I'll give you a little card that tells you that. So keep close to God and do your best. All right, thank you.