Linda lived up north in Hayward. Along with Larry and the other Recoverees, she had come to Eau Claire for a Recovery Conference. Through a friend, she had gotten a place to stay in the city, and she looked forward to the celebration. It turned out to be the worst couple of days of her life.
Tom had been buried in a cemetery outside the city limits of Eau Claire, which means that on this Sunday morning, she has perhaps a 20-minute drive to the grave site. Larry and the other Recoverees are with her.
They aren’t in a hurry, but drive at a pace within the speed limit. The sun has begun to rise, and Linda is quiet alone with her thoughts. Now and then, she speaks aloud: “Tom was such a good man. How could this happen to him (Tom took his life after suffering from a mental health condition for 30 years)?”
By now, they can make out the cemetery. Just the sight of it brings back a wave of feelings. Linda had been there on Friday when they buried Tom, so she knows exactly which grave site is his. As the group draws nearer, she sees that something is wrong. The grave site where Tom was laid to rest is open.
She clutches Larry’s arm. “What’s happened? Has the body been stolen?!” Then, another thought comes to her. “I wonder. What if…No. Could it be?”
With her, we wonder, as many a time I’ve caught myself wondering: “Could it be? Is it really true?”
It’s not mere fantasy. What Recovery says is true. Practicing the twelve steps will resurrect us to a different life full of compassion and kindness for ourselves and other people. But we use our imagination to fill in the details that are not provided in Recovery. Regardless of our choices in this life, God (higher power) has his arms wide open waiting for us to accept his love.
SuperHuman Being
Peace
Larry
email: ljw@superhumanbeing.net
website: https://superhumanbeing.net/