Wisdom For Today - January

[bluidkiti]

January 13

Wisdom for Today
"Just do it!" was a slogan for a popular athletic shoe company, but I have found it helpful for me in my recovery. You see, recovery is a program that requires action. I had to stop being a couch potato and get up and start doing what I needed to do in recovery. Sometimes things that my sponsor told me or I would hear at a meeting seemed to have little connection to my goals in recovery. For instance, I told my sponsor that I wanted to begin working on my defects of character. I told him that I was having a hard time with grandiosity and arrogance. I asked, "How do I stop acting like a know-it-all when I really don't know anything?"
He responded, "I want you to take a long walk each morning and walk down unfamiliar streets." In my arrogance and confusion I said, "How's that going to help?" He looked at me and said two words, "Into action." I had no idea what he was talking about; all I knew was I had to just do it. So I did. So each morning I would take a long walk down unfamiliar streets. One morning I got lost and wasn't really sure where I was or even how to retrace my steps. I had been too busy trying to figure out how this was going to help me and what my sponsor was really up to. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. "Now what?" I thought. I stood there for a while not knowing what to do. Eventually, I had to ring a doorbell and ask for help. My trying to figure everything out on my own got me lost. Do I ask for help when I need it?
Meditations for the Heart
Later that week, I talked with my sponsor again. I told him about what had happened, and he said, "And what did you learn?" I had to admit I wasn't sure and jokingly said, "How to get lost." That's when he asked, "And how did that happen?" I sat quiet for a while and began to see that my trying to figure everything out actually gotten me lost. He said, "That's right, arrogance is blind." Still to this day I recall this discussion. I learned a lot that day. It wasn't up to me to have all the answers, and it wasn't up to me to know all the directions. I am glad I did follow my sponsor's instructions to take a walk, and today I am even glad I got lost. Do I have to have all the answers?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
So often in life I get lost, and I am surprised by my unwillingness to ask for help. I just stand there and do nothing. Again and again I have to surrender and admit that I need help. Thank You for letting me ring Your doorbell, and thank You for giving me instruction and direction in life. I will continue to walk the walk, but I know I need You as my guide. Walk with me today.
Amen.