I hope that wherever you are, you know Recovery is with you.
Mature Recovery is always trying to free us from the prison of our false self. Many people say that Recovery is more about unlearning than learning. As we grow up, we often learn things that are not true about ourselves or the world. These false beliefs become illusions that we must let go of. This frees us from our inner prison and returns us to the openness and trust we knew as children.
What does this mean at the heart of Recovery? Unless we are willing to change and become like children again, we may struggle to enter the world of Recovery.
Read that sentence again.
Sometimes I wonder if people who follow my writing feel disappointed when they learn that Recovery is built on faith in the 12 Steps as written. Some people in Recovery struggle to trust God because of painful childhood experiences. They may wonder how a loving God could allow bad things to happen to them.
I believe we sometimes miss the heart of the message. Our pain can make us feel distant from God, and we may direct our hurt and anger toward Him. Yet God continues to reach for us and work through us. After all, we were all once children. We are all beginners, and we will always be learning as we journey toward God and truth.
When I began to embrace Recovery, I was angry with God and unsure of my relationship with Him. I wondered, why didn’t God protect me from my father’s abuse? But over the years, something began to change. My heart slowly softened. This was a turning point in my Recovery. It helped me show my father mercy and find my way home to the Catholic faith.
The discovery and Recovery of our human connection with God has been called healing. The loss of that connection has been called darkness.
Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest, reminds us that when we do not know who we truly are, we may put off healing until some future time. We may begin to see life as a system of rewards and punishments, where few people feel they can ever win.
But our True Self knows something different. Healing is not something we must wait for in the future. It begins here and now. When we lose touch with our True Self, we experience darkness here and now, too.
Recovery gently invites us to return to who we truly are. We do not have to remain prisoners of our past. With God’s help, we can begin again, soften our hearts, and rediscover the love that has been waiting within us all along.
Remember, Recovery is happening right now, in this moment.
Please pick up my new book. Your support of my ministry allows me to serve others. Daily Devotional: 12 Steps to Unshakeable Recovery: Winter, L.J.: 9798987012741: Amazon.com: Books
SuperHuman Being
Peace
Larry
email: ljw@superhumanbeing.net
website: https://superhumanbeing.net/