He Holds the Keys

[MajestyJo]

My key is my God and my relationship and connection to Him. He is my only defence against my dis-ease.

They say that willingness is the key. To find it, I have to go to my God to find it some days, and pray for the willingness to be willing.

"We...get a good look at what these defects are doing to our lives. We begin to long for freedom from these defects."

Basic Text, p. 33

Becoming entirely ready to have our defects of character removed can be a long process, often taking place over the course of a lifetime. Our state of readiness grows in direct proportion to our awareness of these defects and the destruction they cause.

We may have trouble seeing the devastation our defects are inflicting our our live and the lives of those around us. If this is the case, we would do well to ask our Higher Power to reveal those flaws which stand in the way of our progress.

As we let go of our shortcomings and find their influence waning, we'll notice that a loving God replaces those defects with quality attributes. Where we were fearful, we find courage. Where we were selfish, we find generosity. Our delusions about ourselves will disappear to be replaced by self-honesty and self-acceptance.

Yes, becoming entirely ready means we will change. Each new level of readiness brings new gifts. Our basic nature changes, and we soon find our readiness is no longer sparked only by pain but by a desire to grow spiritually.

Just for today: I will increase my state of readiness by becoming more aware of my shortcomings.

This was a new spiritual awareness for me. I was very aware of my defects that were glaringly apparent to me and those that were made known to me.

I never thought of going to my Higher Power and asking if there were some I was missing. I always pray and ask for help with what I need to be the best me I can be today, so maybe I was doing it indirectly and didn't know. I just know I don't want to be the person I use to be, that the person that is still needs lots of healing, and hopefully the person who wakes up each morning is just a little bit better and has progressed although she is long way from perfection. One of my defects is trying to live up to the perfectionism and expectations that I put on myself, and have to remember it is one day at a time and I do have that willingness. I have had it since the day I walked through the doors of recovery and I pray daily that it be continued.

Posted on another site in 2004