“My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad.”
-ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76
The joy of life is in the giving. Being freed of my shortcomings, that I may more freely be of service, allows humility to grow in me. My shortcomings can be humbly placed in God’s loving care and be removed. The essence of Step Seven is humility, and what better way to seek humility than by giving all of myself–good and bad–to God, so that He may remove the bad and return to me the good.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day July 22
A.A. Thought For The Day
One of the finest things about A.A. is the diversity of its membership. We come from all walks and stations of life. All types and classes of people are represented in an A.A. group. Being different from each other in certain ways, we can each make a different contribution to the whole. Some of us are weak in one respect, but strong in another. A.A. can use the strong points of all its members and can disregard the weaknesses. A.A. is strong, not only because we all have the same problem, but also because of the diversified talents of its members. Each can contribute his part. Do I recognize the good points of all my group’s members?
Meditation For The Day
“And greater works than these shall ye do.” Each individual has the ability to do good works through the power of God’s spirit. This is the wonder of the world, the miracle of the earth, that God’s power goes out to bless the human race through the agency of so many people who are actuated by His grace. We need not be held back by doubt, despondency and fear. A wonderful future can lie before any person who depends on God’s power, a future of unlimited power to do good works.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may not limit myself by doubting. I pray that I may have confidence that I can be effective for good.
Walk In Dry Places July 22
The Right Place for my Type The Right Work
“You cannot change your type, but you can make yourself a brilliant success in that type,” wrote Emmet Fox. This is a reminder for people who are discontented with their lot in life, and this includes most people who participate in 12 Step programs.
There are many different TYPES of people, and all types are good. We only need to find where our type is required and then do our best in that place. We will have immediate advantages, because all of our energies and talents will then be applied in the right way.
We should never spend a moment envying other types of people who are brilliantly successful in their activities. Our happiness is to be found in our place, not theirs.
If I’m doing what’s right for my type, I’ll give it my very best. If I’m in the wrong place, I’ll know that my Higher Power is guiding me toward the right outlet for my talents.
Elder’s Meditation of the Day
July 22
Vine Victor Deloria Jr. (March 26, 1933 – November 13, 2005)
In this universe, all activities, events, and entities are related. Indians believe that everything in the universe has value and instructs us in some aspect of life. Everything is alive and is making choices that determine the future, so the world is constantly creating itself… With the wisdom and time for reflection that old age provides, we may discover unsuspected relationships.
—Vine Deloria, Jr, STANDING ROCK SIOUX
We are all connected. This is what the Elders have told us for a long time. If we are connected to all things, then whenever we harm anything, it causes harm to ourselves. If we destroy the air, then we will be affected by what we breathe in. If we poison the Earth, we poison ourselves. We must respect our Mother Earth and She will respect us in return. We must open our eyes and obey the spiritual laws that govern the Earth and ourselves.
Grandfather, today allow me to honor and respect the things You have made. Let me see the beauty of all things.
Touchstones Meditations For Men July 22
The Reverend Matthew Fox
Suffering is a journey, which has an end.
—Matthew Fox
Pain is part of life. To live a masculine spiritual life, we need a way to understand the suffering we sometimes endure. Looking back at other difficult times can give us a better perspective of the pain we feel today. All of us can recall a loss or a sudden difficult change that we never would have chosen for ourselves. Perhaps it brought us face to face with insecurities or doubts about our survival. Now, after the suffering has ended, we see how much we grew. We changed; we were strengthened and, perhaps, were liberated by what happened to us.
Thoughts about today’s suffering may not be clear as to what good it holds for us. But we are on a journey, and it can only happen one step at a time. We know that journeys teach us great lessons and they do have endings. Our pain today affirms that we are vital and alive people. We know others suffer as we do, and we can turn to each other to give and receive comfort while we are on the journey.
My pain will teach me something I need to know, and it will have an end. I will pay attention to its lessons.
In God’s Care July 22
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are.
-George Bernard Shaw
It’s easy to let circumstances determine how we think and behave. While it’s true that some events seem devastating, our relationship with a Higher Power can help us accept and even grow from experiences that seem impossible to cope with.
We all have known men and women who’ve handled grave upsets far more easily than we have. How did they do it? They have no magic. Rather, they may be more comfortable letting their Higher Power help them accept and understand unfortunate circumstances. Once we accept our anger or disappointment, we’re free to move on to better feelings. We begin to realize we have choices in how we look at problems.
We are never given more than we can handle. We can develop acceptance of any circumstances, but our success in doing so comes mainly through our reliance on God to show us the way.
God will help me handle the uncontrollable events of today. Through acceptance. I can change my feelings at any moment – even right now.
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are.