In a continued study of grace, I really like this quote:
Another element of God’s grace is the opening of the windows of heaven, through which God pours out blessings of power and strength, enabling us to achieve things that otherwise would be far beyond our reach. It is by God’s amazing grace that His children can overcome the undercurrents and quicksands of the deceiver, rise above sin, and “be perfect[ed] in Christ.”
This is so true. “…blessings of power and strength, enabling is to achieve things (like 500 days in true recovery) that otherwise would be far beyond our reach.”
I recognize that I may never be out of the woods or completely free from the tendencies of addiction, but through His grace, I can “overcome the undercurrents and quicksands of the deceiver, rise above sin, and be perfected in Christ.”
This is hard to believe and even harder to understand, but, like anything tough, it gets easier with practice.
The more I’m able to practice submitting my will to Him, the better I get at it. The more I’m able to start my day out by surrendering my will to His, the better I feel. His grace is truly a miracle.
Throughout our lives, God’s grace bestows temporal blessings and spiritual gifts that magnify our abilities and enrich our lives. His grace refines us. His grace helps us become our best selves.
Becoming my best self – what does that really look like? Am I even close to that today? I don’t know for sure. I feel sometimes I’m close, but then I let down my guard and get frustrated with the kids. Or then I let down my guard and feel self-pity. Or then I let down my guard and allow thoughts to slip in that I don’t want to be there: thoughts of self-doubt, thoughts of the past and of the future, thoughts of “discouragement and discontent.”
I feel sins of omission sometimes too: if I haven’t read my scriptures or studied or prayed, if I haven’t done all that I think I should be doing. I recognize today that this can be the super-ego and is not necessarily a realistic expectation, but the feeling can be there.
I’m grateful for the awareness that recovery has brought me today.
I’m grateful for the tools of recovery that I’ve been using:
- SA meetings & book
- Sponsorship
- LDS 12 Step Meeting
- AEIOU’s with Becky
- Praying in the moment of temptation
- Keeping my chin up
- Reading from good books
- Burying my weapons of war (social media, browsing, etc.)
I’m grateful to be in recovery today.
I’ll sign off for now.
Nate
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