Recently I became acquainted with a new sponsee. I realized early on that he had serious problems: unfaithfulness to his spouse, involvement with prostitutes, and other faults which I too had experienced before entering recovery and working the Steps.

While I was away from home, I got a call from him saying he was experiencing a tragedy. His spouse was having an affair and he didn’t know what to do.

As I thought about his situation, I recalled a metaphor from my own personal experience as a pilot and flight instructor. I thought, “He is in a tailspin with his life right now—his aircraft is out of control, spinning earthward, and he is going to crash!” I wondered how I could help him. Higher Power reminded me that the easiest way to recover from a spin (if the plane has been trimmed for normal straight-and-level flight) is to take my hands and my feet off the controls, and the plane will come out of the spin by itself. In other words, Let Go and Let God!