“I thought I had turned my will and my life over to God, yet I was still at the controls, looking for the next stop to fill up on premium!”

“We all want to do things in the way that we devise for ourselves. We are willful. We worship individual determination. It may not occur to us to open ourselves up to a Higher Power. Yet our Higher Power is always there, calling to us. God speaks by saying simply, "I kept calling to you & you did not come." Our answer, quite naturally, often has been, "I couldn't until I knew there was nowhere else to go.” The paradox in this spiritual lesson? A loving God offers us all a more genuine strength & more options when we let go of our willful, controlling attitudes. The young, unseasoned person tries to control everything & push on things that cannot budge. The wiser, more experienced Spiritual traveler says, "I see the limits of what is mine to change, and I can let my Higher Power take care of the things I cannot change."

Adapted from Stepping Stones Daily Meditations

“Many of us were taught or learned that we had to be strong. We called it being responsible. Today in recovery, I will try to let go of my need for control, to become aware of when I need help, and to ask for help when I need it. The joy of living is found in the ability to cry when I’m sad, to smile & laugh when I’m happy, to dance like I’ve got wings when the Spirit moves me. Just for today, I will be grateful for my journey in recovery.”

Adapted from Richard Rohr Daily Meditations

“Love only expands when we give it. The fearful mind shrieks that we will lose love if we give too much of it, but we can never love too much; true love only multiplies and returns to bless us many times over. Today, help me bless the lives of those I touch; to move beyond any fear of giving love. I give life with my love, and to my surprise, actually receive more myself!”

Adapted from A Deep Breath of Life

Meditation for the Day “I believe that God has all power. It is His to give and His to withhold. But He will not withhold it from the person who dwells near Him, because then it passes insensibly from God to that person. It is breathed in by the person who lives in God's presence. I will learn to live in God's presence and then I will have those things, which I desire, of Him: strength, power, and joy. God's power is available to all who need it and are willing to accept it. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may get myself out of the way, so that God's power may flow in. I pray that I may surrender myself to that power.”

Adapted from Twenty-Four Hours a Day© 1975, Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.