[bluidkiti]

July 31

Wisdom for Today
One thing I am very glad that I seem to have lost in recovery is my need to be critical. Early in my recovery process, I was very critical of others. I thought to myself, "How can a bunch of drunks help me?" I found myself putting people down, both in the program and outside of the program. I didn't understand for a long time that what I was really trying to do was build myself up by tearing down others. Fortunately, there were people in the program who taught me how to build myself up in healthy ways. I didn't have to tear down others to feel better about myself. I could begin to feel better about me if I started to make better decisions. I could feel better about me by learning to recognize the good things about me.
Name-calling is now a thing of the past for the most part. No, I am not perfect; there is still the occasional time when someone will cut me off in traffic and a few choice words emanate from my mouth. For the most part now, I can even choose not to open my mouth in these situations, even though I still have the thoughts. I am still working on those and probably will be for some time to come. But even here God reminds me to have a forgiving heart. He reminds me not to be critical of others until there is no more room for criticism of my behavior. The program teaches me how to live without needing to berate others. I can choose simply to feel good about what I do and leave the rest up to my Higher Power. Am I making progress in being less critical of others?
Meditations for the Heart
God can choose to help us with any of our problems if we only bring them to Him. For me this is often times the hard part, because it means that I actually have to admit that I still have problems. It also requires that I humble myself enough to ask for help with these problems. I can't even begin to tell you how many times, I get into a mindset that I can handle my problems on my own. While it is true that some minor issues I can indeed address on my own, there are still plenty of times that I need to ask for help. First, we must recognize our needs and our inability to meet all of them on our own. Next we learn that we need to carry these needs to God, as we understand Him, and ask for help. Finally, we need to become willing to accept the help that is offered. This too can be a problem, particularly if we do not like the kind of help that we are offered. God does not always build a wall for us, frequently He shows us how it is done. Am I willing to accept my need for help and reach out to get it?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
In this day I will cross paths with many different people. Give me patience in my interactions with them. Teach me to be tolerant and understanding. Lead me to a place where I no longer need to put others down and can find healthy ways to build myself up. Let me walk through this day with a willing heart and risk asking for help whenever I need it.
Amen.