First StepsIn Crossing the River Jordan (June newsletter), we looked at what essentially is Step 1 in a 12-step program of recovery. We recognized the swampland created by our addictive behaviors, looked with hope toward a sunnier state of being, and took note of the progression of stepping stones that are the only pathway into recovery. This month, we begin that path with the next two steps over the river: Step 2 – Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity Step 3 – Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him (from Chapter 5, How It Works, Alcoholics Anonymous) I hardly know anyone in recovery who didn’t cringe a bit at these steps, steps that make it clear that recovery is a spiritual process and one that must involve a Power greater than ourselves. So many of us are in some way at odds with the God of our understanding when we begin our recovery journey. Some of the ways I’ve heard the relationship expressed include:
The answer is that there is a big difference between a spiritual program (one that ensures recovery through a change of heart) and a religious program (one that asks we conform to a pattern of beliefs about God). Recovery does not require religion, although we are welcome to participate in whatever religious practice we choose, if we find it helpful in our recovery. Healing must however involve a sense of a benevolent higher power who spiritually redirects our thinking and thereby our actions, because only that kind of power can rescue us from self. It is highly significant that the words “as we understood Him” are italicized in Step 3. This phrase does not mean one understanding shared by all persons in recovery from addiction. On the contrary, it allows each of us to choose a God of our own understanding, and provides us assurance that everyone else in recovery respects our individual relationship with that higher power and should not ask us to change it. This personal relationship is sacred. Some of us choose to reflect on GOD as Good Orderly Direction rather than a supreme spiritual being. Some of us choose initially to seek a higher power among people who are demonstrating the kind of recovery we dream of, although putting our faith in people has its inherent risks. Some of us experience powerful awakenings. Some come to faith through quiet perseverance. All these steps ask is that we suspend our disbelief in favor of thinking outside the prison of self-self-self. Our best intentions, choices and behaviors brought most of us to our knees, so we are hardly equipped to pick ourselves back up again without some spiritual guidance. Just as we believe in the power of electricity even though we cannot see or direct it, we plug our individual lights into the electrical socket and turn on the switch so that we are no longer stumbling alone in the dark. For those of us who experience powerful spiritual awakenings as a result of working the steps, we should always respect the places others find themselves in. It’s fine to share a powerful experience or hope with our recovery group as long as we make it clear that this is our personal experience. It is not OK to evangelize – to insist that others should seek a similar experience. We trust that God has the power to meet each and every one of us right where find ourselves, without any guidance from other flawed human beings. And the most important thing we learn in recovery is that we are clearly not God – in our own lives or the lives of others. © Lynn Gerhard, 2007, Houston, TX If you would like to submit a question or idea for a topic you would like to see addressed in a future edition, please send it to Shannon c/o Good News HERE
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