Lord, make me a channel for thy peace - that where there is hatred, I may bring love - that where there is wrong. I may bring the spirit of forgiveness - that where there is discord, I may bring harmony - that where there is error, I may bring truth - that where there is doubt, I may bring faith - that where there is despair, I may bring hope - that where there are shadows, I may bring light - that where there is sadness, I may bring joy. Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted - to understand, than to be understood - to love, than to be loved. For it is by self-forgetting that one finds. It is by forgiving that one is forgiven. It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life. Amen. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 99
No matter where I am in my spiritual growth, the St. Francis prayer helps me improve my conscious contact with the God of my understanding. I think that one of the great advantages of my faith in God is that I do not understand Him, or Her, or It. It may be that my relationship with my Higher Power is so fruitful that I do not have to understand. All that I am certain of is that if I work the Eleventh Step regularly, as best I can, I will continue to improve my conscious contact, I will know His will for me, and I will have the power to carry it out.
I no longer waste money, but try to put it to good use. Like all of us, when I was drunk, I threw money around "like a drunken sailor." It gave me a feeling of importance--a millionaire for a day. But the morning after, with an empty wallet and perhaps some undecipherable checks to boot, was a sad awakening. One of the hardest things to face is the fact of wasted money. How could I have been such a fool? How will I ever make it up? Thoughts like these get you down. When we are sober, we spend our hard earned money as it should be spent. Although some of us could be more generous in our A.A. giving, at least we do not throw it away. Am I making good use of my money?
Meditation For The Day
You were meant to be at home and comfortable in the world. Yet some people live a life of quiet desperation. This is the opposite of being at home and at peace with the world. Let your peace of mind be evident to those around you. Men should see that you are comfortable, and seeing it, know that it springs from your trust in a higher power. The dull, hard way of resignation is not God's way. Faith takes the sting out of the winds of adversity and brings peace even in the midst of struggle.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be more comfortable in my way of living. I pray that I may feel more at home and at peace with myself.
Hazelden
(Let it be a God or Higher Power of your own understanding)
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Progress not perfection.. & Practice makes Progress!