The Daily Reprieve

FIRES I NEEDED TO SUFFER “Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine.” 1 Peter 1:7 (The Message) “An honest regret for harms done, a genuine gratitude for blessings received, and a willingness to try for better things tomorrow will be the permanent assets we shall seek.” Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 95 For what it's worth: My alcoholism was a mean and selfish disease. People were hurt. Lives were ruined. Families were broken. My only escape from the agony I created was to crawl into and hide in a bottle of alcohol over and over again, trying to blot out the shame and despair. This insane habit created a cold, hard heart, a thankless attitude, and reinforced my walls of resistance to change. Only the grace of God could have saved me. A merciful and loving Heavenly Father carried me to Alcoholics Anonymous where I found Steps to direct me and people to support me through the fires I needed to suffer in order to develop “honest regret”, “genuine gratitude”, and a willingness to persist in my Heavenly Father's way of life. "HE WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU" “Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.” Psalm 55:22 (New Living Translation) "But certainly there wasn't any evidence of a God who knew or cared about human beings." Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 97 For what it's worth: During my early sober days in Alcoholics Anonymous, how could I trust God to take care of me? I was a major disappointment to Him during my drinking days, and I insanely believed He was pushing me deeper into hell. I had to stop drinking, attend hundreds of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and listen to hundreds of members share their experiences before there was a crack in my armor. Then I began to believe God might do for me what he had done for others. That is all God needed to rush in through the crack and begin proving to me I could trust His love. He combined all those meetings and all the sharing with my own sober experiences to convince me He would take care of me. Over my 36 years of sobriety in Alcoholics Anonymous, I have given burden after burden to my Heavenly Father, and He has never let me down.