The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
Hi Everyone, I have a very unusual situation and i have some shame writing about it but my ex husband has legal troubles and they are very serious and he is set for a trial next Fall. I have a 13 year old son and he was taking care of us financially for 12 years. I am now starting to figure out what to do to make a living and I have a "Plan" but not sure if it will work. I feel VERy scared. I have no idea how his case will go and they are trying to settle it but i have never been so stressed in my life! My son is very angry and he has ever right to be. my ex is involved in co parenting and being decent about it but he has an addiction to spending/debting. (My father is my qualifier)> I used to have FAITH IN GOD/HP but i feel that I am being dropped. I feel so vulnerable and anxious all of the time. I have therapy I do EFT and some Reiki and prayers but I wake up feeling completely alone and scared. Does anyone know any prayers for Trust in HP. I know I must say LET GO AND LET GOD all of the time. I am doing phone meetings a lot and trying to share more and more. I need to feel at least a day of SERENITY. i feel ashamed that i am going through all of this in my 50s. (I had my child later in life). Please send us prayers and let me know if you have any experience strength and hope THANK YOU!!
Charlotte - I am sending you (((hugs))), prayers and positive thoughts. Two thoughts that came to mind - the Serenity Prayer is one I go back to always/often. There is also the 3rd step prayer that I try to start my day with. I also love the Prayer of St. Francis.
Serenity Prayer:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
3rd Step Prayer:
God, I offer myself to Thee-
To build with me
and to do with me as Thou wilt.
Relieve me of the bondage of self,
that I may better do Thy will.
Take away my difficulties,
that victory over them may bear witness
to those I would help of Thy Power,
Thy Love, and Thy Way of life.
May I do Thy will always!
St. Francis Prayer:
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace!
That where there is hatred, I may bring love.
That where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness.
That where there is discord, I may bring harmony.
That where there is error, I may bring truth.
That where there is doubt, I may bring faith.
That where there is despair, I may bring hope.
That where there are shadows, I may bring light.
That where there is sadness, I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort, than to be comforted.
To understand, than to be understood.
To love, than to be loved.
For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.
It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life.
__________________
Practice the PAUSE...Pause before judging. Pause before assuming. Pause before accusing. Pause whenever you are about to react harshly and you will avoid doing and saying things you will later regret. ~~~~ Lori Deschene
Charlotte, don't let shame, especially someone elses shame define who you are. Your HP will take care of you if you let it happen! Try to have an open mind and you will see that you are loved.
I say the prayers that Iamhere mentions. I will also imagine my HP walking with me or holding my hand when things are really tough.
There's also a longer version of the serenity prayer that we say at some al-anon meetings:
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
The Courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference
Grant me courage with the changes that take time
Tolerance of those with different struggles
and the Strength to get up and try again, one day at a time
One of the daily readers recently talked about looking bacwards -- the writer was reflecting on all she (or he) had been through and realized that everything passes and she got through many things in the past and would continue to do so.
