AA Grapevine - Came to Believe - December 1955
This is the December 1955, issue of the AA Grapevine. This issue features the famous image “Came to Believe” that has also been known as “The Man on the Bed.” Also included are the articles ”The Friendly Beasts”, “The Four Seasons”, “The Finest Gift of All” which is a Christmas Message from Bill, and much more!
The Finest Gift of All
By Bill
Christmas, 1955
Each of us in AA has received the gift of sobriety.
All of us have found a new usefulness and most of us have found great happiness. This adds up to the gift of life itself— a new life of wondrous possibility.
What then are we going to do with this great gift of life?
Because our experience has taught us, we are quite sure that we know. We shall try to share with every fellow sufferer all that has been so freely given us.
We shall try to carry AA's message to those who need and want it, wherever in the world they may be. We shall daily re-dedicate ourselves to the God-given truth that "It is by self-forgetting that one finds; it is by giving that one receives."
For us of AA, this is the Spirit of Christmas. This is the finest gift of all.
Lois joins me in our warmest greetings. May the New Year of 1956 be the greatest time of giving and of receiving that we in AA have ever known.
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A note on reprints of
"Came To Believe...”
IN AA, we carry the message in many ways, among them your inspired exchange of thought and experience which is The Grapevine.
Many traditionally give a Grapevine subscription to a friend for Christmas, to mark an AA anniversary—or as a gesture of fellowship to a newcomer.
We felt that our Christmas painting—"Came to Believe..."- should be made available in reproduction form, suitable for framing, for those who may want it. We also decided that we should bear the expense of such a venture as a contribution to AA unity. The first Tradition reminds us that "personal recovery depends upon AA unity." A widely circulated Grapevine is an instrument for building greater unity in worldwide AA.
So, we are making reprints of this painting a part of our effort to get more Grapevines into more AA hands. Our aim is not higher income but wider outgo.
Reprints will be sent, unfolded in mailing tubes:
To those ordering Christmas Gift Subscriptions and to those in whose names they are ordered.
To all who, in December and January, enter a new subscription or a renewal of an existing subscription. It doesn't matter when the subscription is due to expire; if the renewal is sent during December or January a reprint of "Came To Believe.." will be mailed.
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This Grapevine is in very good condition for its age. There is light edge wear to the cover and rubbing marks to the spine. There is a small stain on the front cover.
Please view all of the photos for the conditions.