Daily Recovery Readings
September 9, 2020
Daily Reflection
OPENING NEW DOORS
They [the Promises] are being fulfilled among us — sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly.
— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84
The Promises talked about in this passage are slowly coming to life for me. What has given me hope is putting Step Nine into action. The Step has allowed me to see and set goals for myself in recovery.
Old habits and behaviors die hard. Working Step Nine enables me to close the door on the drunk I was, and to open new avenues for myself as a sober alcoholic. Making direct amends is crucial for me. As I repair relationships and behavior of the past, I am better able to live a sober life!
Although I have some years of sobriety, there are times when the “old stuff’ from the past needs to be taken care of, and Step Nine always works, when I work it.
From the book Daily Reflections
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Big Book Quote
“Sometimes we hear an alcoholic say that the only thing he needs to do is to keep sober. Certainly he must keep sober, for there will be no home if he doesnt. But he is yet a long way from making good to the wife or parents whom for years he has so shockingly treated.”
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 82~
24 Hours a Day – The Little Black Book
Thought for the Day
When alcoholics are offered a life of sobriety by following the A.A. program, they will look at the prospect of living without alcohol and they will ask: “Am I to be consigned to a life where I shall be stupid, boring and glum, like some of the righteous people I see? I know I must get along without liquor, but how can I? Have you a sufficient substitute?” Have I found a more than sufficient substitute for drinking?
Meditation for the Day
In God’s strength you conquer life. Your conquering power is the grace of God. There can be no complete failure with God. Do you want to make the best of life? Then live as near as possible to God, the Master and Giver of all life. Your reward for depending on God’s strength will be sure. Sometimes the reward will be renewed power to face life, sometimes wrong thinking overcome, sometimes people brought to a new way of living. Whatever success comes will not be all your own doing, but largely the working out of the grace of God.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may try to rely more fully on the grace of God. I pray that I may live a victorious life.
The Language of Letting Go – Codependency
Perspective
Too often, we try to gain a clear perspective before it is time.
That will make us crazy.
We do not always know why things are happening the way they are. We do not always know how a particular relationship will work out. We do not always understand the source of our feelings, why we’ve been led down a particular path, what is being worked out in us, what we are learning, why we needed to recycle, why we had to wait, why we needed to go through a time of discipline, or why a door closed. How our present circumstances will work into the larger scheme of events is not always clear to us. That is how it needs to be.
Perspective will come in retrospect.
We could strain for hours today for the meaning of something that may come in an instant next year.
Let it go. We can let go of our need to figure things out, to feel in control.
Now is the time to be. To feel. To go through it. To allow things to happen. To learn. To let whatever is being worked out in us take its course.
In hindsight, we will know. It will become clear. For today, being is enough. We have been told that all things shall work out for good in our life. We can trust that to happen, even if we cannot see the place today’s events will hold in the larger picture.
Today, I will let things happen without trying to figure everything out. If clarity is not available to me today, I will trust it to come later, in retrospect. I will put simple trust in the truth that all is well, events are unfolding as they should, and all will work out for good in my life – better than I can imagine.
Touchstone – Men’s Meditation
Don’t let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.
—R. L. Evans
Feelings of discouragement are to be expected as part of life. We will have our times of greater energy and hope and our times of feeling depleted and lost. As we mature we learn to see many peaks and valleys across the landscape.
Giving ourselves over to feelings of discouragement is self-indulgent and saps our strength. We cannot see into the future. The dailiness of our lives isn’t always dramatic and doesn’t usually offer great changes. But we are part of an unfolding process. Looking back over just a week or a month, we can recall troubled times that now seem insignificant. We see other’ people and their progress, and we know they too grew just one day at a time and couldn’t see what the future would bring them. So we continue – knowing that our process is hopeful – even though we cannot foresee the details of our future.
I have the strength to live through the peaks and valleys and to stay faithful to my recovery.
Elder’s Meditation
“…[W]isdom comes only when you stop looking for it and start truly living the life the Creator intended for you.”
–Lelia Fisher, HOH
There are many things that block us from wisdom such as; selfishness, secrets, hate, anger, jealousy and judgments. Another thing that can block us from wisdom is trying too hard or wishing something would happen. Wishing implies doubt and trying implies control. We need to let go of these things. We need to abandon ourselves to the Creator. As soon as we surrender everything, the wisdom starts to flow. The Elders know how to help us with this. Just ask them.
My Great Spirit, today I surrender my life and my will to Your care.
Daily Horoscope – Cancer
You and a partner might be put through the wringer today. This could be a romantic partner, a good friend, or even a coworker. You two may seem to be vibing one minute, then the next, a wedge is driven between you without even realizing how it happened. Don’t let this temporary setback become a longer issue. You can bounce back to a good place with a few kind words, so be the bigger person if any problems do arise.
The Wandering Enigma 