Day 26 – 12.19.14
Continued submission to God’s will reduces strife and brings more meaning to our lives. Small things like traffic jams are no longer cause for upset. We no longer fear our creditors. We accept responsibility for our actions. We accept and treat others as we would like to be treated, as the Savior would treat us all. Our eyes, our minds, and our hearts are finally open to the truth that mortality is challenging and that it will always have the potential to bring us sorrow and frustration as well as happiness.
Describe your desire for these promised blessings.
I’m grateful to be willing to submit to God today. I have felt the blessings come as I show that willingness through my actions: chin up, simple prayers in the moment of temptation, studying, attending recovery meetings, working the steps, and talking to Becky about my feelings and emotions.
I realize that submitting my will to God is a habit I have to develop for a lifetime if I want full recovery and freedom, both from my current addictions and from any other temptations or sins that could be thrown my way.
I want to submit my will to God. I want to do what I feel He wants me to do. I’m grateful for these feelings.
What would your life be like with these blessings?
Well, for the last 315 days I’ve felt more what it’s like to have these blessings – I feel more happy, I don’t get angry as easily (I’m still working on this), I want to understand where my wife and kids are coming from, I want to do what’s right. I don’t want to get caught in Satan’s grasp. I also feel my appetites have been changed by God’s hand in my life. Granted, the temptations are still there to look at others from the chin down, but as I submit my will to Him, those temptations get diminished quickly and I’m able to focus on what’s most important.
Mortality is challenging but I’m willing to keep with Heavenly Father there to help me.
How do you feel about sorrow and frustration being part of God’s Plan?
It just reminds me of 2 Nephi 2 where it talks about opposition in all things. Without the sorrow and frustration, I wouldn’t know what the happiness and joy felt like. I’m grateful for the opposition and am grateful for the opportunity I have to recognize the difference in the two feelings.
Will you practice trusting Him, especially at these times?
Yes, absolutely. I want to continue practicing and learn how to submit to Him in ANY situation, not just in the temptations of my addiction.
Will you practice being humble and grateful to Him in the times of prosperity and happiness that will come as you follow this path?
Yes, I’m aware of this as well and feel strongly that this is an important part of my recovery too – recognizing His hand in all the good things that happen to me. I feel like in the past I got over-confident and felt like I had all things figured out. I felt like any of the blessings I was receiving were due to my hard work, persistence and will power. But that’s not the case. Sure, I have to work and I have to be anxiously engaged, but He opens doors that I couldn’t open on my own at all. I’m grateful for that recognition.
Each new day we renew our submission to the Lord and His will. This is what most of us mean when we say, “One day at a time.” We have decided to let go of the self-will and self-seeking that were at the root of our addictions and enjoy another 24 hours of the serenity and strength that come from trusting in God and in His goodness, power, and love.
What does self-will and self-seeking mean to you?
It’s what I was caught up in for about the last 2 years at least. Self-will is pride. It’s enmity toward God. It’s saying, “My way is better than your’s God.” It’s doing whatever I want, whenever I want, and not thinking about anyone or anything else. Self-will is the opposite of submission.
Self-seeking is selfish. It’s the concept of “what’s in it for me” all the time. I have been so bad in the past with these attitudes. My way or the highway, get out of my way, when’s it my turn, when am I getting paid – these are all things I thought and even said many times.
These attitudes are the addictive behaviors I want to avoid: if I show signs of these addictive behaviors, they will lead me right down the path to addictive actions.
Letting go of these selfish and prideful attitudes are key to successfully taking step 3. Are you ready to make a commitment to practice forsaking these natural-man attributes one day at a time? Explain.
Yes, yes, yes. I don’t want to be selfish. I don’t want to be prideful. I don’t want to always be thinking of me and what I want/need/desire. Instead I want to submit, surrender, and serve others. I want to practice this process of submission on a moment to moment basis and not look back.
I’m grateful for these desires today, and I will continue to focus on these desires.
How does this apply to serving others through step 12?
I look forward to Step 12 and helping others. Service is rarely, if ever, a selfish act. Granted, if I’m serving others to be seen as something, that’s an issue. Or if I’m serving others because of the benefits I feel I will (or should) get in return, that’s an issue; but if I’m serving others with the sole intent of helping them in their recovery process and at the same time keeping me alert and aware of where I’m at, then that is crucial to both the person I’m helping and also to me.
Do you understand the importance of sharing the blessing of sobriety and the gospel with others? Explain.
Yes. I want to do this. I want to share how things have worked for me. I want to continue learning. And I want to live the gospel and it’s principles in all I do. I want to live one day at a time in recovery from my addictions and continue to submit my will to His and not be afraid to ask for His help. When I’m in the best place possible, I then want to be able to share this with others and continue practicing the steps of recovery.
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