Monday, September 22, 2014

Recovery from Alcoholism- Gratitude and Blessings








During my days of drinking, I'm not sure what I would have said if someone asked me what I was grateful for. I'm not sure I even had an understanding of what that word meant. I would say things like, "Man, I was lucky to get that or have this". Or, "Well, I worked hard for it,  it I deserve it."  I took so many things large and small for granted. As if I deserved it - like this is the way it should be.



Not today in recovery. I am more and more aware of the blessings that God has allowed my family and me to have. I should say not only things He has given us,  but things He has not allowed to happen.

I was just talking to a friend the other day and we were observing how we can easily slide back into a state of forgetfulness of our blessings, especially when all is going well! It;s almost like we fall into the trance of living, like these blessings are the new norm for us - like we will have them forever and things cannot change.

Well, awareness is a good thing. Wanted to pass along something my wife, Susan, and I have been doing for probably close to a year. Almost every morning we sit down and reflect on our day ahead and then focus turns to our blessings. We remind each other that we cannot take our blessings for granted. Things do not have to be so good for us. We then list 2 things each for which we are grateful for that day, and describe them.

When we are done, we thank God for the blessings He has given us - that we are aware of - and those untold number of blessings that He has given us that we don't even recognize.

Then we end in a prayer for the day.

What comes to your mind about regarding blessings you have and  some blesings you may not have been aware of?

1 comment:

  1. The blessings God has bestowed on me are many. The two that stick out most to me are my family's support, both spoken and unspoken & The amazing people I have met in our recovery circles--people like you and Jeffrey, whom I've never even met, yet keeps me engaged in my sobriety with his comments!!
    As far as those I might not have been aware of--I'm not exactly sure how to answer that. But, there are a few that I have taken for granted, worth mentioning! For example, my health, both physical and mental. By right, I shouldn't be alive or sane with all of the garbage I ingested. Now that I know longer get "dope sick" and the fog has lifted -- I forget sometimes what a blessing from God my health is!

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