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Post by BW on Dec 22, 2010 20:29:30 GMT -5
I've been blessed to be a member of many recovery programs...Yes.. I am one of those that qualify for the saying "Some are sicker than others"...however today I see that as a tremendous blessing
No matter what recovery program one works...there are so many gifts and blessings.
I'd like to hear about some of the gifts others have received on their journey.
For me just to name a few...I have real friends...not just acquaintences that want something from me..friends that love and encourage me and accept me for who I am. Today I have integrity and honesty which includes the ability to admit I don't have all the answers and that is ok..
I have moral compass today thanks to the God of my understanding.
That to me is one of the greatest gifts of all. I start & end my day with Him and He is my very best friend.
There are many more gifts but I would love to hear from others
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Post by caressa on Dec 22, 2010 21:45:41 GMT -5
It is so good to have someone else put it into words. When I read your post, my thought was, "Just a closer walk with thee" a hymn I heard sung by my mother many years ago.
As you say, I start and end my day with my Higher Power and remember to take Him with me throughout the day. Very seldom do I choose to leave Him behind.
I am grateful for the close connection I have gotten with Him. Before He was some distant being, to much out of reach for a person who didn't play by the rules for so many years.
It was good to know that there are no "Thou shall nots!" and yet I have found that there are some darn well betters, or I will find myself back out there picking up. Not so sure I would be 'out there' as I would probably be isolated in my place, totally shut off from the world.
I am so grateful for the 12 Steps. They fit any and all situations in my life. That is because the principles of the Steps, helped me to get honest, to look at me, and more importantly, find myself.
If I lose me I have nothing. I can't be a good mother and parent. My parents were long gone by the time I found recovery and yet I was given the tools to make an amend to them both.
I can't be a good friend to myself or to others. I am grateful that I learned that this is a program of reflection. What I see in others, is a mirror of what is in me. It takes one to know one. As they say, for every finger you have pointed at someone, you have three coming back at you. I learned to be not so judgmental, and yet, the beauty of the program teaches me, progress not perfection. I can slip back into old patterns and habits, and I can stop and try again. If I am lucky, I will do it before picking up a drink or a drug. If I am not so lucky, all I have lost is my dry date, and I can start again.
I am very grateful for the people that were put in my path that did my research for me. I was gifted with some great teachers.
In early recovery, I had a resentment against a man who centered me out in a meeting and made me want to crawl under my chair and hide. For a long time, I didn't go back to what he termed as his meeting. Then when I did, I wouldn't give him my name. If I am not mistaken he was 44 years sober when he passed away. The gift was that I moved into a new apartment at 3 years sober and found out he lived across the hall from me. The last time I saw him, he was knocking on my door, offering me his fish and chips because he didn't feel like eating them. He taught me the gift of giving. A gracious gift, and a valuable lesson, all from someone, who didn't always walk his talk, but stayed sober, a day at a time.
Many people over the years have crossed my path, and they will have a place in my heart forever.
The greatest gift of all is that just for today, I don't have to use.
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Post by caressa on Dec 28, 2010 15:25:06 GMT -5
Today in my travels, I saw several people who had been in the rooms at one time and by the looks of them, they decided to leave. I some who looked like they needed the program and hadn't found it or had rejected it. I thank them for carrying a message to me today.
I am so grateful that I was lead to the doors of recovery and that I chose to walk in and stay!
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Post by caressa on Dec 29, 2010 10:44:54 GMT -5
Found this on my site Soundness of Mind:
Gifts of the Spirit
Through the program, we come to desire spiritual gifts as well as material necessities. Experience shows us that serenity is priceless and something to be desired.. Courage, wisdom, faith, hope, love, humility - these are all spiritual gifts which come to us from our Higher Power as we abstain and work our program.
As we receive these gifts of the spirit, we are able to share them with others. Giving them away to our families and friends ensures that we will receive them more abundantly ourselves. We come to realize that a small gift of time and attention can mean more than an expensive material present.
God's gifts are available to us whenever we are open to receive them. By abstaining, we make our spirits ready to accept their rightful gifts.
I pray that I may be ready to accept Your spiritual gifts.
You are reading from the book:
Food for Thought by Elisabeth L.
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Post by BW on Dec 29, 2010 12:59:12 GMT -5
Awesome!! Thanx
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Post by caressa on Jan 3, 2011 18:52:18 GMT -5
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Post by majestyjo on Jan 19, 2020 22:44:15 GMT -5
Must always remember to be grateful. Blessings materialize in many forms,
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. I will be back looking for Lin and others.