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.
C2C reading for Wednesday, October 9 speaks about trusting in God. Many times we are at war with Godh not wanting to surrender our will. I know I was. When I entered program and discovered that I needed to trust HP and surrender because i was powerless it took quite some time for me to surrender. i am ever grateful to Al-Anon for helping me learn to surrender.
After working the program for a time i finally realized that I decided to stop fighting reality and a Higher Power so as to allow HP to b part of my if. When I was able to surrender I grew Spiritually and saw the the beauty in the world and felt the courage that i needed to live
i know that the world does continue without any help from me. and that I can live my life safe in the knowledge that I have power to see the world only by letting go of what I cannot control and undertaking one day at a time the monumental task of changing our own thinking. This alanon l help me accomplish
Thanks Betty for your service. I came to alanon with faith and spirituality, but not knowing I needed to turn my will and my life over to the care of God as I understood it. Years ago in my work place I had a client who used to say, Thy will not my will, and I didnt understand what that was. Now I get it! I know I cant make all my decisions well, and I truly understand I need help every day and in many ways. Im willing to rely on HP for help. I count on it and ask for it. My thinking now has really changed, all for the better. Lyne
Mahalo Betty for your ESH which is similar to my own. I relate also to Lyne's experience because I didn't have all the information and the experiences necessary to do the complete work. I was born into a religion which was ridged and had consequences for those who did not believe as they spelled it out so I just went along...information only and no other experiences. I followed the protocols and facets and put questions out of my mind...way out. I took up the chant "We are number one" and didn't do any inventory about it until the programs of recovery sat me down and sat me still and started sharing their ESH with my awareness which soon started to change. I went thru periods of deep search and change including watching others and the elders of the program give and demonstrate their ESHs with me willingly and then made contact with HP which altered my thinking, feeling and behaviors and resulted in a life I would not change for anything today. When I let the fellowship teach and preach their recovery to me I came to understand that it was something of deeper meaning and consequence than just being preached to over and over again without change on any level. I practice different today. (((hugs)))
Happy Hump Day MIP Family. Thank you Betty for your service and the daily. Thank you also and others above for your ESH and shares. It has taken me a long time with continuous practice to trust in a HP. I was deeply riddled with self-will that had been my driving force for so, so many years. I confused self-will and free-will in my life, and it took time, practice and faith to untangle all 'that' in me!
Today, I do all that I can to surrender each morning, trust God and just do the next right thing. I practice RAOK (Random Acts of Kindness) as it helps me practice empathy, humility and kindness. I focus on my own 4 S's in my morning prayer - Sobriety, Serenity, Sanity and Service. It's my own way of working 2 12-Step programs in harmony.
There are so many life events that have not made sense to me, causing me to question God's will and/or plan. Recovery has given me the tools to work through life events and not loose my faith or trust. I am grateful that with practice, I found great peace and serenity in the spiritual program I embrace, every day, one day at a time.
I hope all had a good day! I golfed this morning, took a long nap during fall rain showers this afternoon and am embracing fall, which seems to have arrived to stay! I love the colors of the changing leaves and the smells that come with fall - grateful for 3 or the 4 seasons (winter -- not so much, even when the snow is beautiful!)
(((Hugs)))
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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
(((Betty))) Thank you for your devoted service...I absolutely "hated" the God of others understanding which was horrid example..So I was Agnostic forever and still am in that I don't buy into an OUT side diety working in my life..there, to me , is no big daddy in the sky, but WITHIN me there IS my higher power of MY understanding, aka my Higher Parent, also I call the program, a lot, my higher power...trust and surrender were always triggering for me for reasons I don't care to go into,some of you know my past, some don't, but anyway, I felt abandoned by this God of others understanding, hence my inability to trust AT ALL...I had to be "self reliant" for I was doomed , that was my thinking....NOW, I see that I am NOT enough, NOT big enough to take on this world, so NOW, slowly, I am becoming able to cast my burdens to my HP within me, cast them off to the universe, but NOT fight what I cannot control...the tendency is still there, to be all omnipotent, to be all independent of anything ( got let down so many times, I felt like I did not neeed anyone or anything ) but after life beating me down over and over, I decided to try and just ride out the bad, savor the good, and just TRY to, at times, when things are really bad, just do the next right thing by me and cast off the negative vibrations to the universe, let go, step back, work what options I can and DETACH.....thanks for your share...I may have been a BIT off topic, but this is what popped in my head...
