Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
FAITH = The Ultimate Adventure
FAITH - So, it is true for me that my Faith with a capital "F" is my ultimate adventure. Trusting God in all I do, in all my actions and in all my desires and intentions, is the ultimate "I have no idea where I am going, but I will keep going!" There is a famous recovery prayer that I carry in my wallet and I refer to it when my faith is tested especially hard.Dear God,
I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe this: I believe that the desire to be sober us your will for me. I hope that I practice that desire in everything I do. I hope that I never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it at the time.
Therefore, I will trust you always; for though I may seem to be lost, and in the shadow of death, I will not be afraid because I know you will never leave me to face my troubles all alone."
All I can attest to is that I have never been left alone. Faith - I dedicate each month to a spiritual concept, Jan-Honesty, Feb-Hope, Mar-Faith. March is the month of faith. I have faith because I took a leap into the great unknown and I survived. I have faith because my right prayers were answered and my wrong prayers were not. I have a heart bursting with love and a body made strong by challenges. I have everything I need today; I have enough to spare and to give away.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Trust Him
I have had to face a lot of terrible things in my life - most of the worse were simple truths about myself. Honesty, Hope, Faith...I was told when I got sober that God (or that Power greater than me) asked only ONE thing, just one thing of me...Trust Him. I decided I could do that ONE thing. So far, I have never been let down. So far, I have not been given more than I can carry with help. If I didn't need His HELP (His Ever Loving Presence) I would not need Him. So I trust...
Thursday, March 4, 2010
FAITH = Fear Ain't In This House
FAITH = Fear Aint' In This House. March is the third month of the year which corresponds with the third step. The third step states that we "made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood him." This is the step of faith and, to me, the scariest step, because it is an all or nothing step for me. If I do it right, I turn my will, my thoughts, my dreams, my emotions
and my fears, over to God. If do it right, I turn my life, my work, my actions, the outcomes, over to God. I do the work and make the effort and then leave the outcomes to Him!
and my fears, over to God. If do it right, I turn my life, my work, my actions, the outcomes, over to God. I do the work and make the effort and then leave the outcomes to Him!Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Recovery is a Leap of Faith
RECOVERY FROM ADDICTION IS...A LEAP OF FAITH
When I go to sleep I have faith that I will awake in the morning, that is faith...We have nothing to fear, but fear itself...Faith without works is dead.
I believe that I became an alcoholic because when I drank, I experienced a feeling that I could summon with little or no work whenever I needed it or wanted it. I believe that I could not accept a program of recovery because I was afraid to change. I was afraid to try something new or different; I was unwilling to give up what used to work; I was afraid to surrender to something that appeared to work for many others. I knew that there was a program of recovery that required me to surrender my fear and only to become willing, humble and honest. I did not have the courage to take a leap of faith.
I was hanging on a mountain cliff. I had fallen off a path with a back pack; everything in my pockets fell out as I hung on to a branch sticking out of the rocks of the cliff with both hands. I looked down and saw jagged rocks and pounding waves. There appeared to be no one around. I could hear noises of life around me but I could not understand anything I heard. As both hands tired, I would hang one hand at a time changing hands. Gradually all my fingers were so tired that I could not hang on much longer and shouted for help, but I could not hear the response that I was looking for. It was only when the pain was too great and when I became too tired of fighting to hang on did I agree to let go of the branch.
I fell a great distance and landed on another branch that was stronger and could hold me as I sat and rested. Now that I had fallen farther, I could see that there was a clearing in the sea below with no rocks showing. If I could stand up and jump, I thought I could avoid the rocks below.
I wondered if my legs were strong enough to propel me far enough beyond the rocks against the wall of the cliff. I wondered if the wind would blow me against the face of the cliff. I wondered if there were rocks below the surface of the water that seemed to be safe. I became afraid that I would not make the fall and break something on the fall of several hundred feet. Maybe I should just sit and wait for someone to rescue me. I prayed to God to help me out of this mess. I sat for a long time hungry and thirsty. I became weaker and full of pain. I passed out several times. I thought I would die like this and then something inside me told me that I believed that it was not my destiny to die like this. I did not want to die like this. I had no choice. I had to jump. I had to take a leap of faith.
Suddenly I remembered a scene from the Indiana Jones movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” when Indiana Jones had to trust the instructions in his father’s note book to save his father’s life by reaching the goblet that was used by Jesus during the first communion. He was on one side of a great crevasse and could see nothing to get him to the other side where there was the cave – his destination. The instructions told him to walk over an invisible bridge. He decided to take a leap of faith. It worked. I have taken many leaps of faith in early recovery when I was scared and had doubts. I had to. I jumped feet first about 300 feet and then dove in head first. It was either that or continue to suffer until death.
I jumped only partially believing that I would be alright and would live. I hit the water and hit it hard. The water was cool and clean. It was salty and it was invigorating. I began to swim away from the rocks toward an area about 1200 yards from where I had landed. The current was strong and it tried to carry me back toward the rocks. I remembered not to fight the current but to swim along the current perpendicular to it until I had swam pass the current. I stopped thinking. I stopped being afraid and thought only to keep moving until I could reach the shore. It made me tired to keep swimming and I was pissed off at my situation but I kept swimming. The waves made me choke and foam and seaweed got in my mouth, nose and eyes. I skinned my knee on one of the rocks below. I kept going even though I wanted to stop and rest.
The water became shallower and I could finally stand up and started wading to the shore. I got to the beach and collapsed. I rested for a while and fell asleep. I woke up and realized that I had survived. I could see nothing but beach and sand for miles, but I knew that if I followed the shore I would eventually find the next sign back to civilization and safety. I knew? I guess I believed it. I guess I had faith that if I survived the leap that the next challenge would not be as difficult. After all, faith without works is dead. I started walking in the direction of the sun...
What is your Leap of Faith? What do you fear? What are you willing to try to test yourself? Do you have faith in yourself? Do you have faith in something greater than yourself?
When I go to sleep I have faith that I will awake in the morning, that is faith...We have nothing to fear, but fear itself...Faith without works is dead.
I believe that I became an alcoholic because when I drank, I experienced a feeling that I could summon with little or no work whenever I needed it or wanted it. I believe that I could not accept a program of recovery because I was afraid to change. I was afraid to try something new or different; I was unwilling to give up what used to work; I was afraid to surrender to something that appeared to work for many others. I knew that there was a program of recovery that required me to surrender my fear and only to become willing, humble and honest. I did not have the courage to take a leap of faith.
I was hanging on a mountain cliff. I had fallen off a path with a back pack; everything in my pockets fell out as I hung on to a branch sticking out of the rocks of the cliff with both hands. I looked down and saw jagged rocks and pounding waves. There appeared to be no one around. I could hear noises of life around me but I could not understand anything I heard. As both hands tired, I would hang one hand at a time changing hands. Gradually all my fingers were so tired that I could not hang on much longer and shouted for help, but I could not hear the response that I was looking for. It was only when the pain was too great and when I became too tired of fighting to hang on did I agree to let go of the branch.
I fell a great distance and landed on another branch that was stronger and could hold me as I sat and rested. Now that I had fallen farther, I could see that there was a clearing in the sea below with no rocks showing. If I could stand up and jump, I thought I could avoid the rocks below.
I wondered if my legs were strong enough to propel me far enough beyond the rocks against the wall of the cliff. I wondered if the wind would blow me against the face of the cliff. I wondered if there were rocks below the surface of the water that seemed to be safe. I became afraid that I would not make the fall and break something on the fall of several hundred feet. Maybe I should just sit and wait for someone to rescue me. I prayed to God to help me out of this mess. I sat for a long time hungry and thirsty. I became weaker and full of pain. I passed out several times. I thought I would die like this and then something inside me told me that I believed that it was not my destiny to die like this. I did not want to die like this. I had no choice. I had to jump. I had to take a leap of faith.
Suddenly I remembered a scene from the Indiana Jones movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” when Indiana Jones had to trust the instructions in his father’s note book to save his father’s life by reaching the goblet that was used by Jesus during the first communion. He was on one side of a great crevasse and could see nothing to get him to the other side where there was the cave – his destination. The instructions told him to walk over an invisible bridge. He decided to take a leap of faith. It worked. I have taken many leaps of faith in early recovery when I was scared and had doubts. I had to. I jumped feet first about 300 feet and then dove in head first. It was either that or continue to suffer until death.
I jumped only partially believing that I would be alright and would live. I hit the water and hit it hard. The water was cool and clean. It was salty and it was invigorating. I began to swim away from the rocks toward an area about 1200 yards from where I had landed. The current was strong and it tried to carry me back toward the rocks. I remembered not to fight the current but to swim along the current perpendicular to it until I had swam pass the current. I stopped thinking. I stopped being afraid and thought only to keep moving until I could reach the shore. It made me tired to keep swimming and I was pissed off at my situation but I kept swimming. The waves made me choke and foam and seaweed got in my mouth, nose and eyes. I skinned my knee on one of the rocks below. I kept going even though I wanted to stop and rest.
The water became shallower and I could finally stand up and started wading to the shore. I got to the beach and collapsed. I rested for a while and fell asleep. I woke up and realized that I had survived. I could see nothing but beach and sand for miles, but I knew that if I followed the shore I would eventually find the next sign back to civilization and safety. I knew? I guess I believed it. I guess I had faith that if I survived the leap that the next challenge would not be as difficult. After all, faith without works is dead. I started walking in the direction of the sun...
What is your Leap of Faith? What do you fear? What are you willing to try to test yourself? Do you have faith in yourself? Do you have faith in something greater than yourself?
Saturday, October 10, 2009
True Faith
Having true faith is the most difficult thing in the world. Many will try to take it from you. I get it from you, from answered prayers, from a run or a journey that I have no idea how it will end, but I JUST KEEEEPPPP GOOOIINGGGG!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
We Ceased Fighting Everything and Everyone
When we learn that we do not need to fight our way through life, we discover a new level of freedom because we choose, we make a choice, not to have our way and not to force outcomes. Why? Because we have learned that we are children of the universe and that all things work out for the best, so we do not need to force our will. We trust that God and the Universe are working with us toward our ultimate good. We simple do what we need to do and leave the results to God. We have learned to trust that which we do not see...we gain faith. When I was faced with my worse fears, I asked God why I had to have this terrible thing. It was revealed to me that I would emerge stronger and better. I did and even stronger or better than I could possibly imagine.
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