“But my pain and despair were keys that unlocked The Door to New Life, and I didn’t even know it.”

“We can never really engineer or guide our own transformation or conversion. If we try, it will be a self-centered and well-controlled version of conversion, with most of my preferences and addictions still fully in place, but now well disguised! Any attempts at self-conversion would be like an active alcoholic trying to determine his own rules for sobriety. What’s the answer? God has to radically change the central reference point of our lives. In truth, we do not even know where to look for another reference point; up to now it has all been about me! Too much “me” can never find “You”—or anything beyond self.”

Adapted from Breathing Under Water

Meditation for the Day “Sunshine is the laughter of nature. Live out in the sunshine; the sun and air are good medicine! Nature is a good nurse for tired bodies. Let Her have Her way with you. God's grace is like the sunshine; let your whole being be enwrapped in the Divine spirit. Faith is the soul's breathing in of the Divine spirit. It makes glad the hearts of human beings. The Divine spirit heals and cures the mind. Let The Divine Nature have its way and all will be well. Prayer for the Day Today, I take a few deep breaths to let go of self and pray that I may live in the sunshine of God's spirit. I pray that my mind and soul may be energized by it.”

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