Renewal...

This is my new nephew. He looks just like his 2nd sister. He will probably be spoiled by his mother and beat up by his sisters. Tho it sounds like the sisters are spoiling him so far. I was thinking how different my sister's life will be now that they have a boy. I was thanking God for the safe arrival and pondering the goodness we have experienced.
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But then the news came on and it was back to "reality" and how much negativity there is in this world. This bombing or this shooting or this loneliness and this confusion. It is all really the same. We are a lost people.
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Step 2-We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
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It doesn't say we came to believe in that Power. It doesn't say that said Power would, if He were so inclined, restore us. What I read today is that thru our process/journey, we developed belief, an understanding, even if only an inkling, in a Something whose job/purpose it is to restore us to sanity.
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I have known this step for years and it amazes me when things that are new jump out at me. See, for years I resisted this step because I thought it meant I needed to become a Jesus freak. Then I resisted it because becoming a God person meant I was screwed up and wrong and I wasn't able to acknowledge that. Then I saw this power could restore me to sanity so it was ok for me to be insane. Now I see the hope piece is the Power. The Power wants to restore us, to put us back to our original condition, without the scars and bruises and nightmares we have become accustomed to "dealing with." I don't have to know the answers or make the plans or jump thru the right hoops because my Higher Power wants to do the work. My job is to change where my mind is, to think for better, to concentrate on renewal, to turn away from the demons, to believe in healing.
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He says, Take up your mat and walk! If I believe He can heal me, I don't think twice about it. I roll up that mat and stretch my legs. If I am still worried about who is going to help me get closer to the pool or what time the angel arrives, well, I am going to miss the restoration. As Jesus asked that man so long ago, Do I want to get well? That is really the question of the 2nd step.

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