November 5th

From Wisdom for Today:

Quitting drinking and drugging was only the beginning of my recovery. I found out that I had to go to meetings for more than just abstinence from my addiction. I had to go to meetings in order to change my thinking and my behavior. My thinking was all messed up. I continued to behave like an addict. Just because I stopped drinking and using didn't mean that I was okay. I still found myself wanting to manipulate, lie and play all the games I played when I was using. If I was ever going to stay in recovery, I knew I had to change. I needed to be re-educated. This is what meetings were for. It was the only place I could get the education I needed to change my thinking and behavior.

Going to school was not easy for me. In recovery I found myself wanting to skip classes just like I did in high school and in college. I found myself not wanting to study or do my homework. Yet if I was going to cooperate with God, I had to go to meetings. I had to study the program literature, and I had to work the steps. Opening up and exposing my thinking was not easy. I was afraid that everyone would think I was crazy or judge me. This is not what happened. In the fellowship I found people who, like me, needed to change their thinking and behavior. I was not judged but accepted. Am I willing to expose my thinking to others in the program?

Meditations for the Heart

Early in recovery I was told, "It's not about quantity, but about quality." I was surprised by this remark. I had thought the goal was simply to put a lot of 24 hours together. I figured the person with the most time was the winner. I had heard the slogan, "Stick with the winners," and assumed that the winners were those with the most time. Then when I was talking with an old-timer, he told me that quality is what was important. I was beginning to string together several 24 hours, but I had no idea how to find quality in recovery. So I asked the old-timer, "How do I find quality?" He said, "Share the fellowship, stay Spirit-minded and learn the lessons." I was dumb-founded. I thought about what he said and had no idea where or how to begin. The next time I saw him at a meeting I asked him to be my sponsor. Do I have a good instructor for the classroom of recovery?

Petitions to my Higher Power

God,

There are so many lessons to be learned if I am to find this thing called quality. Help me to stay motivated and always curious. Let me keep asking questions, and thank You for the wonderful teachers in the program You have introduced me to. Today help me to be a good student.

Amen.