A friend of mine shared a meme which read,
“Dear God, I want to take a minute not to ask for anything from you, but to simply say, Thank you for all I have.”
It got me thinking. How many times have I actually said, “thank you” verses, “help” or “please blah-blah?” I believe balance is key when it comes to prayer. Asking God for help is great and I try to do so often. When I was in active addiction, I NEVER uttered a word of thanks in my prayers. They mostly consisted of fox-hole prayers, you know the one’s where you are in a heap of trouble and talk to God as a last resort? The other prayers I was big into during active addiction were bargaining prayers, “God, I will never ______ again if you help me out of this mess!”
Now that I am on a more spiritual path of recovery, prayer is a daily thing in my world, although my prayers are a bit different today. I have said the Serenity prayer so many times in the last seven years it became just words. Thankfully, I noticed that and now I slow it down and ponder just what it is I’m actually saying. Everyone seems to pray a bit different. I tell my sponsees, “I don’t care how you do it, just do it!” Myself, I just talk to my higher power (which I call god because I’m too lazy to say higher power) just like I would anyone else.
Quite frequently I notice something really special, miraculous if you will, usually in nature. I’ll see an eagle in flight, an osprey swoop down and catch a fish, or a shooting star; I’ll watch tall grass dancing in the wind or any other of God’s wonders take place. I’ll witness my three year old do something that reminds me of my childhood, accomplish a new feat in his world, or be mesmerized by the simple things in life. I see a struggling addict/alcoholic in a meeting and see something deep within them “click”. These are just a few examples of the magical moments I witness in my life. These are the times when I take two seconds, look up into the sky, and say, “Thanks God!”
So my question to you is…have you thanked the God of your understanding today?
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