Step Eight: "Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all." Step Nine: "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others." Making restitution for the wrongs we have done is often very difficult. It hurts our pride, that seemingly insurmountable barrier. But the rewards are great. It takes courage to apologize, but the results more than justify it. An enemy may become a friend, and a weight lifted. Have I done my best to make all the restitution possible?
MEDITATION FOR THE DAY
There should be joy in living the spiritual life. A faith without joy is not genuine. If you are not happier as a result of your faith, there is probably something wrong with it. What happens on the surface of your life is not important. Faith gives you a deeper reward. Each day offers joy, with life abundant and outreaching.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
I pray that my horizons may grow wider. I pray that I may keep reaching out for more service and companionship.
I found it difficult to grasp the concept of making amends to people who had also harmed me. I really struggled with the tit for tat kind of...."why should I?" attitude Simple answer is that the program tells me to.
When my sponsor said I had amends to make to my parents I balked and thought her crazy ...but there was no doubt that out of anger I had done harmful things to them. I made amends for those things. I now see it as incredibly freeing. Kind of keeping my side of the street clean.
There was an amends I couldn't make in person to my sister - she had died. So I wrote it down - held it in my hand - got down on my knees - held it in my hands and said to my HP - Please will you tell S***y I am really sorry for what I did. I then burnt it and let it go.
I don't believe I am missing any amends but if something crops up I will do it. The program tells me to and doing things my way for so long just got me to a terrible place.
