The 9th Step Promises & My Dad

Yesterday I received an incredible gift. I have been chipping away at my 9th step and have come to a place where the list is nearly completed. Those left on the list are ones that I am simply waiting for an opportunity to arise, or they are ones that I am willing to do but may never have the opportunity as the other party at this point is unwilling to hear them. I can read the promises an P.83 and P.84 in the Big Book and understand them as they are actually happening in my life.

The gift I received yesterday is proof that they are coming true for me. Back in early Feb. I made my amends with my father. At the time he didn't say much. I suppose he needed time to process what I said. Yesterday I received a letter in the mail from him. In that letter he stated that he feels his life is complete, that he has received all that he needs. He went on to state that he is proud of me and who I am becoming. He said that he is proud of the way I have changed my life, which is comformation for me that my actions are being seen and recognized. He went on to say that he is proud of the way that my husband and I have raised our kids. That alone was an incredible statement, as I have for a long time felt as though he was judging me in that department, which turns out to not be the case at all. He went on to acknowledge the things I have done in my past and to apologize himself for not being a father during much of my childhood. He ran from the disease and therefore ran from his responsiblities as a father. My father told me that the past is the past and we can't change it, but rather learn from it and do the right thing from this day forward. Somehow that helped bring me to that promise of not regreting the past, nor wishing to shut the door on it. He finished the letter with the statement, "I am honored to call you my daughter." This letter is one of those gifts of sobriety, a fulfillment of the promises, that I never imagined possible when I began this journey. I am truly blessed, I feel as though I have the greatest father in the world.

This program really works, if you work it!