Journey In Recovery

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OUR PATHS ARE OUR OWN
. . . there was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet.
— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 25
When I began going to meetings, feeling different than everybody else was a daily occurrence.  I believe in part, this was due to not understanding the path that God had planned for me.  I had no spiritual tools to understand that my path was different than everyone else.  I was slow to catch on.  As today's daily reading states, I was showing up at meetings out of "obligation and necessity" when I first came into the program.  
I became frustrated that I wasn't "getting it" like all the others I watched walk through those doors. I wanted what they had but just didn't know how to get it.  So I did the old "fake it til you make" routine.  I asked my close friends what their faith meant to them.  Everyone had different answers and different ideas which just confused me more.  
Then I realized that it was my program to work and that if I was going to "get it", I needed to take direction from others who had been down the path of recovery and some action to find my own path. That meant working the steps and lots of praying. In the end, I arrived at the same destination.  My path was quite different than some and similar to others... but it was my path, my program.  
As I said in previous blog post Came, Came To, Came To Believe , faith requires action.  It is my faith in God that keeps me sober today.  I had to learn to trust God to show me the way.  I thank God everyday for showing me a path in recovery and giving me the strength and courage to share this message with others.


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