Metaphorically, the evolution of my relationship with God can be expressed like this:
I cried out "God! I'm starving!"
And a banquet appeared.
Later I cried out "God, I'm starving!"
And the food to prepare a banquet appeared.
Still later I cried out "God, I'm starving!"
And God said, "So? You know where the supermarket is."
Alcoholics Anonymous suggests that, to bypass all the religious rhetoric and spiritual dogma many of us have been exposed to in our lives (and which generally we used as an excuse to justify resentment and willful behavior rather than looking for the deeper truths beneath) we create our own idea of what God is like -- an idea of God that "works" for us so that we can then develop a faith that works for us.
But regardless of how deeply your faith begins or becomes, or whatever conception of a Higher Power is eventually meaningful to you, it seems that certain spiritual laws are always in place, (even though, try as we might, we never fully grasp them in their entirety).
And when it comes to alcoholics in recovery, chief among them seems to be:
God will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, not what we will not do for ourselves.
Or, as a smart friend of mine puts it, perhaps a bit more succinctly than I: "God don't do dishes."
I bet He has a really nice and high-tech dishwasher.
Posted by: Dave | September 17, 2009 at 03:14 AM
is it possible that God does everything for me, but he works through me to provide me with opportunities to practice principles and feel connected to the provision in a personal way?
That's what's in my diseased head today...
mostly I just suit up and show up and do what's put in front of me, that way I stay out of trouble (mostly anyway)
Posted by: Jessie Robinson | September 17, 2009 at 05:41 AM
I've always like the analogy that if I am in the closet, hungry, praying for help, that my HP isn't going to throw me a fish...that picture in my head makes me lighten up, get up, and get real!
Namaste
Posted by: Kimberly A | September 17, 2009 at 10:36 AM