Progress

For those who make it through all the 12-steps, we give thanks. This is no small matter. We admitted things along the way that NO ONE in their right mind wants to admit. We are forced to face our powerlessness over our dependencies; we are encouraged to accept the fact that we need restoring to sanity; we stand in place until we trust God, as we understand him with not only our lives but our wills; we inventory, confess, ask, and admit; we make amends; we practice a daily examen; we choose to draw near to God...and now this: we notice our own spiritual awakening, carry the message and continue to practice the principles that got us here in all our affairs. Whew!

Still - I have questions. What is a spiritual awakening? To whom and how do I carry a message? Why me? Why not me? How does working this program qualify me to speak to anyone? Although I think I understand the principles we are to practice (more on that later), I wonder: have I ever done anything as thoroughly in all my affairs as Step Twelve suggests?

As we ponder these questions and more...let’s not forget to notice and celebrate that we have earned our questions, confusions and anxieties about this step because we were willing to walk through the first eleven. Let’s explore these questions together! Stay tuned.

Spiritual Awakenings

Healing...is not a science but the intuitive art of wooing nature.

W. H. Auden, “The Art of Nature”

Tossed about in the chaos of a world defined by the pandemic, it is tempting to look for certainty. I love love love that the 12-steps do not insist on such paltry comfort. Instead, the culmination of our work lands here, on Step 12: “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others and practice these principles in all our affairs.”

This is it? This is what spiritual alertness means? We carry a message of hope to others that is filled with experience, strength and hope - for that is what our journey has gifted us. We practice these principles in all our affairs - which I find comforting in the age of COVID-19.

I do not have to be happy or feel blessed or know much of anything to do this work of messaging hope and practicing principles. I need not wait for perfection, or even much self-improvement; the principles we are learning to practice are often about the very things I need improving. I am only asked to practice. Practice. More practice.

And so I find that healing is not what I expected or even hoped for.

What have you expected of healing? Have your expectations complicated your work or supported it?

A Prayer for You...

Does anyone ever COMPLETE this step? As we head toward discussions on the 12th - here is a prayer to affirm and support your journey:

Lord, we are here. I am finding out who I am and what I am living for. It is amazing to think that long before I became willing to walk this walk, before I got my hopes up, you had your eye on me. You had desires for me - to give me good gifts, to love me well, to support my life and fill it with meaning and purpose. Thank you. Amen.

What God Wants...

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - Your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - And place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him… Fix your attention on God.

Romans 12:1-2 MSG

Is there a need for endless chatter about what God’s will for us is? I think not. We can sit quietly, contemplatively, secure in the knowledge that we have the meat of the message right here, right now. Next up? We ask how to personalize it in our own life. How do we stay close to God and receive his help? Who do we love in our everyday life? This is our choice.

What God Wants...

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - Your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - And place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him… Fix your attention on God.

Romans 12:1-2 MSG

Is there a need for endless chatter about what God’s will for us is?

I think not. We can sit quietly, contemplatively, secure in the knowledge that we have the meat of the message right here, right now.

Next up? We ask how to personalize it in our own life. How do we stay close to God and receive his help?

Who do we love in our everyday life? This is our choice.