Power over powerlessness

I heard someone at a meeting say this the other day; “I am not powerless over alcohol until I take the first drink.”  That really caught my attention. Had to think about it for some time. 

For me it presented the idea that we have all the power we need to stay away from the first drink, if we choose to accept that power by doing whatever we need to stay sober. I believe that power has been given to us by God and we can trust that it will be there if we cooperate with Him.  Cooperate by working the program and using all the tools available to us to stay away from that first drink. Willingness to do what we need to is required.

However, once we take that first drink it’s like all bets are off the table. Just listen to people who come back from a relapse and what they say happened after they took the first drink. They lost the power necessary to stay away from alcohol. The phenomena of craving (described in the Doctors opinion chapter found in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous) kicks in and we are off to the races

From page 45 of the 3rd edition of the Big Book of  Alcoholics Anonymous:

"Lack of power, that was our dilemma. We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves. Obviously. But where and how were we to find this Power?

Well, that’s exactly what this book is about. Its main object is to enable you to find a Power greater than yourself which will solve your problem".

Your thoughts?