Warm greetings everyone! My name is Jay, an alcoholic in recovery.

When at last I came to know and admit I was powerless in the First Step, Step Two was a huge obstacle. I remember reading, "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves .." And right there, was the big problem. While I was still drinking, I thought I was the greatest power in the universe, but of course I found out later that I really wasn't. So how did I learn how to work this Step? I learned at first that it was okay to use anything besides myself as my Higher Power, and since I had trouble with the word "God" (as I understood Him), I chose a tree to be my Higher Power. And it worked! Because I truly wanted to get better and to return to sanity. I knew I was very ill when I came through the doors of AA, but you bore with me, and helped me to see how this program worked. If you take the Steps, and you have the desire to get better, you really will get better. I know this only from my own experience. Speaking from that, and not AA as a whole, I found that when it comes to this Step, each person can decide what works best as their "Higher Power" at first. I am very glad I had a sponsor who showed me the AA way, and allowed me to explain to him that I was so-called "different" from everyone else. But in time I learned that each of us has struggled to get here, and the common bond is alcoholism. I reflect back now on my sixteen years of sobriety, and I am forever grateful. Thank you, each of you, for being here today.

- Jay