January 21st

From Wisdom for Today:

Often times I am pleasantly surprised to hear from someone in the fellowship that something I said helped him or her. It is one sign that one of my past character defects has improved. There was a time when my selfishness and self-centeredness would not allow me to even care about others. I was so wrapped up in my disease and myself that I didn’t even bother to think of others and what I might do to be charitable.

Being charitable means that I genuinely want to help others. Sometimes, I reach out and offer what I can to help other addicts and alcoholics. Frequently I have no idea whether my help was of any benefit or not. This is not important, because even when it looks like I have failed, I know that a seed has been planted. God will determine what happens to that seed. What happens to the seed is not important; what is important is the fact that I have grown in my attempts to help others. I benefit from this. Still it is nice to hear from others, once in a while, that something I said or did helped them. Am I developing a charitable heart?

Meditations for the Heart:

Early in recovery I had a very closed mind. My thinking was rigid, and I always seemed to want to be right. My mind and my thinking were both locked into a box. As I began to open my heart and mind up in the recovery process, I began to wonder what was outside of the box. My ways did not work. I needed to begin to think outside of the box in order to find the answers I needed. This thinking outside of the box helped me to see a Higher Intelligence in the universe. I did not have all the answers. None of the people in the program did either. But each of us in unison and harmony with a Higher Intelligence has found answers we could not have found on our own. Do I think outside of the box?

Petitions to my Higher Power:

God,

One day at a time is how You help me to grow spiritually. Help me this day to use the rain you provide in my life for growth. Let me use the sunshine You provide to warm my heart. Help me to be of a charitable mind today. Let me seek Your Higher Intelligence.

Amen.