Life In Sobriety Community Group
A group for all those who are living a sober life and want to discuss how it is for you today - months, years into sober living. The focus is not on how you got sober, it's how you see and appreciate your life today and how your relationships with people and life itself may have changed.
August 12, 2013
Quote of the Week
"God has only three answers to your prayers:
Yes
Yes, but not now
No, because I have something better for you."
While the 11th step teaches us to pray only for the knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out, there will invariably be times when we are sure we know what's best and will pray for a desired result or circumstance.
This is the moment that self will has crept back in. Having momentarily forgotten that we had rarely been truly happy when we got what WE wanted, what we need is a way to get back to the wisdom of the 11th step. And this quote provides that.
By keeping these three answers in mind, we're able to release expectations from our prayers and truly surrender ourselves to God's will. Through surrender we find faith and faith leads us to the sure knowledge that God's will for us is always better than our own.
Quote of the Week
"God has only three answers to your prayers:
Yes
Yes, but not now
No, because I have something better for you."
While the 11th step teaches us to pray only for the knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out, there will invariably be times when we are sure we know what's best and will pray for a desired result or circumstance.
This is the moment that self will has crept back in. Having momentarily forgotten that we had rarely been truly happy when we got what WE wanted, what we need is a way to get back to the wisdom of the 11th step. And this quote provides that.
By keeping these three answers in mind, we're able to release expectations from our prayers and truly surrender ourselves to God's will. Through surrender we find faith and faith leads us to the sure knowledge that God's will for us is always better than our own.
Bill
"The key to my serenity today is directly linked to my ability to stay in the moment--
to be in the present."
And this is because God is only here with me now. As soon as my thoughts take me away from the present, and I begin to either dwell on the past and think of what could have been or regret what I did or didn't do, or when I begin to obsess on the future and worry about what will or won't happen, I have abandoned God and I'm all alone.
And by myself, I am powerless and quickly become overwhelmed by fear and worry or by anger and resentment.
Today, my serenity is directly linked to my relationship with my higher power, and I strengthen this relationship throughout the day by returning to the present.
One of my favorite ways of doing this is to follow the advice on page 87 of the Big Book: "As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action. We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day 'Thy will be done.'"
As soon as I bring myself back to the present, and get connected to my Higher Power, serenity returns and I know that I'm going to be OK.
Bill