The sign in the antique store showed a fisherman in a rowboat being tossed about in a storm. The message was clear: the fisherman may have great faith, but now was not the time to put away the oars and kneel in prayer - it was time to pray and row!
Sometimes we find ourselves in a storm of trouble, a sea of problems, and we want God to get us out. We may even pray, "God, get me out of this mess." But like the man in the rowboat, the way out is not just by praying to God. The way out is to pray, ask for help, and take action - do something to help ourselves.
Praying to God won't keep us sober if we don't also go to Twelve Step meetings. Praying to God to heal our relationships with others won't help unless we're willing to make amends. Health and recovery are a combination of prayer, communication with our Higher Power, and a commitment to do our part.
So true. This reminds me of a little story I once heard...
A man was trapped on the roof of his house because a huge storm came through and flooded the whole city. As the water rose to the eaves of his house he prayed, knowing that his faith in God would save him from death.
Shortly after his prayer, a man in a row boat came along and said "the waters are still rising, get in and I'll take you to safety."
The man replied, "my faith in God will save my life", and sent the man in the boat away.
As the water rose half way up the roof of his house, a small coast guard boat came by and told him if he wanted to live, he would have to leave with them now.
The man replied, "my faith in God will save my life", and sent the coast guard away.
The water was now so high that he was left standing on top of his chimney. A helicopter flew over and dropped a ladder saying "climb in, we'll fly you to safety."
Again, the man sent them away saying his faith would save him.
In no time the water over took him and he drowned. As he stood before God in heaven, he said "I prayed and had faith in you, why didn't you save me?"
God replied..."I sent 2 boats and a helicopter. What more did you want?"
Yup like our 3rd step says we made a decison, but making a decision without folowing up with action is meaningless, just another random thought..I may decide to be an astronaut, but without taking action(going to school,training,etc)its not gonna be Puff your an astronaut!!!We will pray ,do the work, make the decision,take action and leave the results to our Higher Power!
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Selfishness-self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles.
Thanks All. Great post and responses. I'm reminded here of a picture I keep in my head. The picture is of me rowing the boat and God steering. He will get me to where I need to go if I keep rowing. Things will be fine.
Things turn ugly if I stop rowing( taken action) or decide to kick God out of the Captains chair(self will) and steering the boat. God doesn't row....
