August 18--In Whatever Small Way

Contribute to peace in the world by asking to be a worthy custodian of your spiritual gifts. In the small moments of today, be grateful for the gift of life. Turn your head to notice the sacred in the small and holy in simple things. Be joyful and useful. Love your neighbor. Be compassionate. Bring kindness and peace to the part of the world that is within your reach. Offer up your day to be used for love.  --Mary Davis

    I think I volunteered to lead tonight's 12-Step meeting. This quote inspires the topic of what spiritual gifts I have received via 12-Step recovery. I shall thus "kill two birds with one stone" (wretched analogy) by developing my meeting topic via a blog post. 

    The first spiritual gift that comes to mind is understanding that I always have a choice. That may be only good attitude vs. bad, but I have a choice. Another gift is the knowing that I am never alone--there are other addicts like me plus a Higher Power (HP) and infinite resources to guide and guard me. One of the "Promises" of the 12-Step program is "We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us." I learned early on that substance abuse was the way to handle life's challenges. The 12 Steps have given me a successful way to live and handle ANY challenge without using. Another spiritual gift is the willingness to spend time in prayer and meditation to nurture my relationship with HP. I have learned the necessity and value of forgiveness, both for myself and others. Maintaining an attitude of gratitude serves me best. Possibly the biggest gift is the relief in knowing that I am infinitely loved, no matter what, even when I forget that I am infinitely loved. 

    All these gifts--who wouldn't want to spread them around!??!

        Leta

Barney--the gift of love in doggie form 😂