Step 12: Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of the steps,
we tried to carry this message to others and to practice
these principles in all our affairs.
December 10
Recommended reading: 1 Thessalonians 4, 5 and Jude
What do you imagine a “spiritual awakening” is like? Do you think it comes wrapped in a perpetually perky package of goodwill toward all? What about the phrase, “practicing these principles in all our affairs.” What do you suppose that means? If we get this far in the twelve-step process, does it follow that we no longer have to ask, “What would Jesus do?” because we intuitively both know and do it?
Thought for today: “My cup brims with blessing…” Psalm 23
Thought for tomorrow: I may not know the answer to all those questions, but I believe that spiritually awake people who are practicing these principles in all their affairs are people who can relate to Psalm 23, when David says, “My cup brims with blessing…” After all, we were once in darkness, and now we are children of the light. Once we were lost, and now we are found. Once we were separated from God, and now we live in communion with Him. What a bunch of blessing! What else does it mean?
Is a blessing getting your way, getting what you “want,” sitting on a balcony at a beach, or running on a trail through farmland at Virginia Tech? Is a blessing browsing through a great music store and then finding the perfect afternoon snack on The Corner at UVA? Is a blessing found in a good book, a cup of hot chocolate, a cozy fire, and an over-stuffed chair? Is a blessing spending the weekend with great friends and beating your husband at bridge? Is it kayaking? Is it that beautiful moment when your children are all fully engaged in a conversation that has everyone in stitches? All these things I love; are they my blessings? “My cup brims with blessing…” Is a traumatic life event in childhood a blessing? Is having your boyfriend break up with you—after finding a replacement—a blessing? Is an eating disorder a blessing? Is having someone you love suffer from the horrors of addiction a blessing? Is financial loss a blessing? Is chronic illness a blessing? I have completely lost my ability to label life events in the “seen” world as “blessing” or “curse.” Some of my greatest hurts have turned out to be my all-time greatest blessings. And although I enjoy sitting and running and browsing and snacking and reading and great friends and winning and kayaking and laughing—and feel incredibly blessed to have these precious things in my life—I am not so sure that some of the things I’ve cursed in life aren’t also blessings. I think David is reminding us of this truth when he weaves us through green pastures, quiet waters, paths of righteousness, valleys of the shadow of death, evil, comfort, dinner with our enemies, and the hospitality of head anointing. David believes. David believes that a plan in the unseen world often leads to strange and mysterious twists and turns in the “seen” world. May God give you a delight in the roller-coaster ride of life; may He equip you with “God-vision goggles” so that you have a vision for more than what can merely be seen. May He give you peace in the process and the courage and stamina necessary to be the Prince or Princess Warrior that He has created you to become, so that you can carry that message of hope!
December 10
Teresa McBean
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Other links: www.crosswalk.com & NACR Online
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