A Prayer & Some Thoughts - April

[bluidkiti]

April 20


Prayer to Release Control

Lord,
For too long I have wanted to be in control, tried to be in control and cherished the illusion that I am in control. I release myself and my illusions into Your hands. I surrender my need to feel in control, and embrace the truth that You are in control and that I can control only my inner life and not my outward circumstances—and certainly not other people. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot control, courage to change the few things I can (my thoughts and actions) and wisdom to know the difference.
Amen

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Just a Thought

A new way of living.

When we alcoholics first come into A.A. and we face the fact that we must spend the rest of our life without alcohol, it often seems like an impossibility to us. So A.A. tells us to forget about the future and take it one day at a time. All we really have is now. We have no past time and no future time. As the saying goes: "Yesterday is gone, forget it; tomorrow never comes, don't worry; today is here, get busy." All we have is the present. The past is gone forever and the future never comes. When tomorrow gets here, it will be today.

So ............

Am I living one day at a time?

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Just a Contemplation

Pain of Change

When we learn something new, we see how it could have made our life better at an earlier time. We regret being stubborn, immature, or impulsive. Now we see our mistakes in a new light and it hurts. This is one of the pains of change. Some people turn away from growth because they refuse to tolerate the pain of honest hindsight.

We need to face these regrets, but not indulge in them. We take a bow to the past and move on to live in the only place we can - the present. We can acknowledge our guilt and remorse and then turn them over to the care of God. We can't change the past, but we can learn from it. Getting stuck in guilt over past deeds only repeats our mistakes by failing to use our learning today.

I need to acknowledge and let go of my grief and regrets so I can attend to life here and now.

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Pain-Killer or Pain-Healer

I believe that when we were active alcoholics we drank mostly to kill pain of one kind or another--physical or emotional or psychic. Of course, everybody has a cracking point, and I suppose you reached yours--hence, the resort once more to the bottle.

If I were you, I wouldn't heap devastating blame on myself for this; on the other hand, the experience should redouble your conviction that alcohol has no permanent value as a pain-killer.

As Bill Sees It Page 291

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Just a Quote

"With a bit of effort, I can smile at someone today, even though I'm frowning inside. We both will be better for it." ~ Karen Casey