From Each Day A New Beginning, February 10:
“’God knows no distance.’ ~Charleszetta Waddles
Relying on God, however we understand God’s presence, is foreign to many of us. I was encouraged from early childhood to be self-reliant. Even when I desperately needed another’s help, I feared asking for it. When confidence wavered, as it so often did, I hid the fear—sometimes with alcohol, sometimes with pills or too much food. Sometimes I simply hid at home. My fears never fully abated…Slowly and with practice it became easier to turn within, to be God-reliant rather than self-reliant.”
There’s a saying in the Program that “our best thinking got us here (into the rooms of recovery).” And it’s so true! I joke at meetings that I’ve always been “CSR,” compulsively self-reliant.” I have been for much of my life, afraid to ask for help and even more afraid to accept it. As a child I had to rely on myself for so many things, and that became a survival strategy. But as an adult, that very façade of strength can become a terrible defect. Appearing to be a formidable wall of arrogance, it only served to isolate me and separate me from my peers. I had to tear down that wall.
And when I did, when I found the ability to bare my fears and vulnerabilities and ask for help when I needed it, I found my humanity. My faith in a power greater than myself enabled me to let go of my self-reliance and join hands with others as we reached out and helped one another.
It hasn’t removed the problems from my life. But it has made facing and living with them so much easier.
War and peace
Just want to mention that you know exactly what to post ..I really needed this today marilea 😇💖 sending love and hugs
Hi Debra, thanks for stopping by. Our disease used to shame and isolate us. Maybe it still does among some people, but I think the world is waking up about substance use disorder. More and more people are showing tolerance and understanding for a complicated brain disease that is hard to understand. And that tolerance and understanding will make it easier for all substance users to seek treatment and a better life. Enlightenment, not just for us, but for everyone!