“When we took this step, we were practicing the principle of faith.”

– Life with Hope, second edition, page 11

The first time I took the Third Step, I felt the most wonderful sense of surrender. I thought I would turn over my will and my life and it would stay turned over. Well, my will is darn pesky, so I’ve found that I need to turn it over at least once a day, usually more often. When I worked in an office building, I trained myself to do a Third Step every time I got in an elevator, at least twice a day.

I heard in meetings that my will is my thoughts, and my life is my actions. This means I turn over my thoughts and my actions to my Higher Power, to give me good orderly direction. Over time, I’ve learned that I’m powerless over my first thought, but like a runaway train, I don’t have to follow it. I can jump off the tracks and ask for a different thought. If need be, I call a friend in recovery to help me derail wrong thinking. By taking the Third Step, I am willing to live life a new way.

Final thought: Higher Power, help me turn to you when agitated or unsure. Give me the right thought and action.