Step 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. AA, p. 12, paragraph 3 My friend suggested what then seemed a novel idea. He said, Why don't you choose your own conception of God? That statement hit me hard. It melted the icy intellectual mountain in whose shadow I had lived and shivered many years. I stood in the sunlight at last. It was only a matter of being willing to believe in a Power greater than myself. Nothing more was required of me to make my beginning. AA, p. 12, last paragraph into page 13 For a brief moment, I had needed and wanted God. There had been a humble willingness to have Him with me - and He came. At the hospital I was separated from alcohol for the last time. Treatment seemed wise, for I showed signs of delirium tremens. There I humbly offered myself to God, as I then understood Him, to do with me as He would. I placed myself unreservedly under His care and direction. I admitted for the first time that of myself I was nothing; that without Him I was lost. I ruthlessly faced my sins and became willing to have my new-found Friend take them away, root and branch. I have not had a drink since. AA, p. 13, last paragraph into page 14 My friend promised when these things were done I would enter upon a new relationship with my Creator; that I would have the elements of a way of living which answered all my problems. Belief in the power of God, plus enough willingness, honesty and humility to establish and maintain the new order of things, were the essential requirements. Simple, but not easy; a price had to be paid. It meant destruction of self-centeredness. AA, p. 20, middle of 2nd paragraph we have recovered from a hopeless condition of mind and body. If you are an alcoholic who wants to get over it, you may already be asking - What do I have to do? It is the purpose of this book to answer such questions specifically. We shall tell you what we have done. AA, p. 42, paragraph 3, lines 1-2 Quite as important was the discovery that spiritual principles would solve all my problems. Even so has God restored us all to our right minds. Some of us grow into it more slowly. But He has come to all who have honestly sought Him. When we drew near to Him He disclosed Himself to us! Questions! Do you want to drink? When was the last time you wanted to drink? When did you feel like not wanting to drink?

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