[bluidkiti]

October 9

Wisdom for Today

Somewhere along the way, I started to develop commonsense. This was not something I had when I was actively using alcohol and drugs. But in recovery I began to learn that if I drank or used drugs, it ended in trouble. More importantly, commonsense told me that if I could no longer drink or use drugs, then the only alternative was sobriety. I found out that I could not simply switch from one drug to another. It was not a matter of stopping the liquor and only drinking beer. I simply had to stop everything. I wasn’t addicted to just one and not the other. I was addicted to changing my reality in ways that destroyed me. Commonsense said I had to stop it all.

I learned other commonsense things as well in recovery. In order to stop my insanity, I had to do more than just stay clean and sober; I had to change my lifestyle. I had to be open to doing things differently. I had to be willing to change. I had to rely on a Power greater than I. My way didn’t work. I had to find a new way of living. This is where the Twelve Steps came into play. These steps taught me how to live. Am I willing to learn commonsense?

Meditations for the Heart

Today as I look out my window, I see that the leaves are starting to change color. The air is crisp, and I am reminded of an important lesson. Soon the leaves will be gone, and the chill of winter will arrive. But now I have much to do if the trees are to bear fruit next year. Branches must be cut, and limbs pruned. The dead wood must be cut away, so that next spring new buds will bear fruit. Recovery is like this. If we are to have strong growth in the new spring of our life, we must prune away the dead wood. I had no idea how to do this effectively. I had to ask for help; I needed someone to show me how to do it properly, or I risked killing the tree completely. If I did nothing at all to the tree, there was a good chance that it would not bear any fruit in the coming year. Am I willing to cut away the dead wood in my life to bear fruit in the spring of my recovery? Am I willing to ask for help and to be shown how to do the job right? Do I realize I have to do this, not just once, but each year in order to keep growing?

Petitions to my Higher Power

God,

You walk with me in each season of my life. Help me to be willing to let You prune away the parts of my behavior that get in the way of new growth. Lead me to the people that can teach me commonsense. Help me to bear good fruit in the renewal of my life.
Amen.