My biggest problem is me.
I am the first victim of my character defects.
So, when I’m looking around trying to find someone else to blame for my shortcomings, I had better look in the mirror first.
I must ask God for His Help to remove my shortcomings. It takes daily practice.
God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.
Addiction is a malady of the soul. We seek relief of our soul-sickness through harmful substances and behaviors.
The cure for our soul-sickness is spiritual. There is no tip-toeing around it.
Trying to address everything except my spiritual condition to cure my soul-sickness is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Connection with God has always been the solution.
God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.
Sometimes we go on for long periods of time trying to live the right way and not giving up but life doesn’t seem to change for us. Life feels like it sucks but we hang in there.
We are told “Keep coming, it gets better”.
Then, out of nowhere we get a break. Some really good things that we never expected begin to happen in our lives.
We call it a blessing or even a miracle.
Could it be that the real blessing is that we didn’t lose faith?
Could it be that God didn’t want to waste a miracle on the faithless?
God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.
The decision to not drink and instead go to the hospital detox was surreal.
Up until then I did not realize my plight but I was desperate.
It was like I was not making the decision, but rather I was just following along.
I understand now that God intervened and guided me to the decision.
God has His Reasons. He knows what is best for me.
God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.
People change because of one of two motivators – inspiration or desperation.
My desperation to change was motivated by the fear that I would not survive if I couldn’t get sober and stay sober.
My inspiration to change was motivated by the desire to live as those who had managed to get sober.
The change in me started and continues with a reliance and trust in a Power greater than myself.
One day at a time, I seek God’s Help.
God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.
When I was drinking and using drugs, my soul was rotting away and I was further from God than I had ever been in my life.
I was living a wretched existence.
As difficult as it was to stop and stay “stopped”, it became easier over time because I eventually saw the Grace of God in saving my life.
My path is my path. But had I not been a suffering addict and alcoholic, I may have never found God in my life.
My alcoholism is not a tragedy. It led to my salvation.
God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.
If I stopped drinking, why would I need to identify my character defects and have to ask God to remove them? Shouldn’t putting down the substances be enough?
My character defects were developed and perfected by me, so that I could navigate the world in a way that seemed to work for me.
They cause me to act out in ways that are unacceptable to myself and others. When I act-out in unhealthy ways, it brings back my old ways of thinking about myself and thus I want to drink or use drugs.
It requires constant vigilance for me to be aware of them.
It requires God’s Power to remove them from me.
God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.
God will send an angel if I really need one.
God decides who to send.
God decides when to send them.
I can’t be fussy about who God sends.
I can’t be fussy about the message they bring.
I just need to keep my eyes and heart open so that I don’t miss it.
God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.
Sometimes life doesn’t go according to my plans.
Sometimes it’s something small, like a flat tire.
Sometimes it’s something big, like losing a job or a loved one.
In any case, it’s not what happens that matters as much as how I respond to it.
Everything happens for a reason. Every adversity comes bearing a gift.
If God has allowed me to survive a hardship, God will show me a solution.
I’m living proof of that.
God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.
This life doesn’t last forever, so I had better enjoy what’s left of it.
The value of my life can’t be measured in material things because I can’t take any of it with me.
The value of my life must be measured in what I leave behind. The only treasure I can leave behind is the positive effect I have had upon others.
Every day I get the opportunity to share that treasure. My hope is that the treasure gets passed on.
My hope is that’s what God wants from me.
God, please help me to be ok today. Thank You. Amen.