Changed Attitudes Can Aid Recovery
11/Jul/08 Filed in: Faith
Before I got into recovery, I didn't have much
use for God. In fact, I despised and feared Him,
and I hated organized religion. I was convinced
that I was bad, and I was angry with God for
making me so wrong, so twisted, and so fearful.
Then I came to recovery. I began to work the program. I attended meetings and began to share my story and my feelings. I got a sponsor. I worked the Steps. I began to do Twelfth Step work. I took risks. In the midst of this, I found that God wasn't who I thought He was. I found that He was One who I could cry out to, One who would hear me, and One who would care for me. I found that He loved me. I also found that my attitude about God had changed as I began to know Him better. I moved from fear and hatred to gratitude and love.
That changed attitude is the foundation of my recovery.
Then I came to recovery. I began to work the program. I attended meetings and began to share my story and my feelings. I got a sponsor. I worked the Steps. I began to do Twelfth Step work. I took risks. In the midst of this, I found that God wasn't who I thought He was. I found that He was One who I could cry out to, One who would hear me, and One who would care for me. I found that He loved me. I also found that my attitude about God had changed as I began to know Him better. I moved from fear and hatred to gratitude and love.
That changed attitude is the foundation of my recovery.
—Anonymous
Freedom
04/Jul/08 Filed in: Faith
| God's
Care
It's Independence Day in the United States, the
day we celebrate our freedom as a nation. Today,
I can also celebrate the spiritual freedom I have
because I am in recovery. Recovery has encouraged
me to find a personal understanding of God and
His love for me. Because I now think of God in
terms that I can begin to understand, I am now
able to turn my life over to His care.
My understanding of God grows and evolves. Because my finite understanding of an infinite God must always be incomplete, it is never the same as anyone else's. But that's OK. God loves us both.
I now have a sense of a unique purpose in life, one that God has planned just for me. I am the only one who can live it, and I cannot properly live anyone else's. Grounded in faith, I can hold tight to the course God has set before me and face my future with confidence.
My understanding of God grows and evolves. Because my finite understanding of an infinite God must always be incomplete, it is never the same as anyone else's. But that's OK. God loves us both.
I now have a sense of a unique purpose in life, one that God has planned just for me. I am the only one who can live it, and I cannot properly live anyone else's. Grounded in faith, I can hold tight to the course God has set before me and face my future with confidence.
—Anonymous
Properly Applied Faith
02/Jul/08 Filed in: Faith
How many of us, before we began the process of
recovery, were like the fellow discussed in this
passage from AA's Big Book?
Your prospect may belong to a religious denomination. His religious education and training may be far superior to yours. In that case he is going to wonder how you can add anything to what he already knows. But he will be curious to learn why his own convictions have not worked and why yours seem to work so well. He may be an example of the truth that faith alone is insufficient. To be vital, faith must be accompanied by self-sacrifice and unselfish, constructive action. Let him see that you are not there to instruct him in religion. Admit that he probably knows more about it than you do, but call his attention to the fact that however deep his faith and knowledge, he could not have applied it or he would not drink. Perhaps your story will help him see that he has failed to practice the very precepts he knows so well.
Your prospect may belong to a religious denomination. His religious education and training may be far superior to yours. In that case he is going to wonder how you can add anything to what he already knows. But he will be curious to learn why his own convictions have not worked and why yours seem to work so well. He may be an example of the truth that faith alone is insufficient. To be vital, faith must be accompanied by self-sacrifice and unselfish, constructive action. Let him see that you are not there to instruct him in religion. Admit that he probably knows more about it than you do, but call his attention to the fact that however deep his faith and knowledge, he could not have applied it or he would not drink. Perhaps your story will help him see that he has failed to practice the very precepts he knows so well.
—Anonymous
Surrender
02/May/08 Filed in: Faith
I can't.
God can.
Let Him.
These first three Steps lead us to putting our trust in God. Surrendering to the One who is wiser and more powerful that I am brings order into my life as He assumes greater control. The Holy Spirit serves as a steadying influence and a guide to right decisions.
Paul wrote to the Romans, "For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?" He is faithful and will care for us if we let Him.
God can.
Let Him.
These first three Steps lead us to putting our trust in God. Surrendering to the One who is wiser and more powerful that I am brings order into my life as He assumes greater control. The Holy Spirit serves as a steadying influence and a guide to right decisions.
Paul wrote to the Romans, "For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?" He is faithful and will care for us if we let Him.
—Anonymous