Daily Reprieve

From Courage to Change of Nov 16:

For a long time I tried to let go and let God, but I couldn’t seem to do it. I needed to find a concrete way to let go. I heard someone share at a meeting that she pictured her loved ones on a beautiful ocean beach, basking in the light of a Higher Power.

Al-Anon has taught me to take what I like and leave the rest. I couldn’t relate to the beach scene, but I did find comfort in the general idea. Once again, the experience, strength, and hope of another Al-Anon member led me to find my own, personalized answer. I now envision wrapping my loved ones in the kind of blanket that I think they’d like – a down comforter, an army blanket, a patchwork quilt – and gently handing them to my Higher Power. I find it important to be very specific. After all, my fears and worries are specific.

With a clear picture of my loved ones in my Higher Power’s care, I am much more able truly to let go and let God.

Today’s Reminder

When I’m anxious about other people, I need my Higher Power’s help. Fighting with fear often strengthens its hold over me, but turning my loved ones over to God can free us all.

“‘Let Go and Let God’…teaches us to release problems that trouble and confuse us because we are not able to solve them by ourselves.” ~ This Is Al-Anon

END OF QUOTE—————————————

Many of the spiritual mantras in my life have sounded good and even powerful, yet failed to work for me in practice. “Perfect love drives out fear.” I held onto that phrase not because it changed me, but because it seemed to gesture toward a mystery worth exploring.

The same was true of a recovery saying meant to ease anxiety: “Let go and let God.” Again, I kept it more for its meditative challenge than for any proven effectiveness in the combustible, oxygen-rich atmosphere of everyday life. I have often asked, when faced with spiritual assertions: Where is the meat hook? How do I move from euphoric fog to practical application?

The Twelve Steps of Recovery begin with a grounded commitment to truthfulness—honesty. I didn’t reject these sayings. Instead, I assumed the problem might be my inability to align with the reality they pointed toward. Still, I need a meat hook to accompany any spiritual proclamation. Without one, I’m left with self-condemnation that quickly hardens into animal frustration. So I hold the mantra lightly and listen for the meat hooks to emerge within the collective wisdom of recovery.

Over time, some of that fog began to take form:

1. Let go of outcomes. Take responsibility only for the next right thing.
2. When worried about others, become a lighthouse. Build a life worth emulating.
3. Let go of God’s relationship with those I love. Grant them the dignity and freedom of their own journey.
4. Offer yourself to their God as available help, then remain open and attentive.
5. Practice peace and value intelligence over panic. This creates room for the serenity, courage, and wisdom that a petitioned God provides.
6. My God does not desire loneliness, but a family of children who delight in the presence of their source parent. I release the orphaned posture and watch the unseen become tangible.
7. Perhaps perfected love really can drive out fear— once it finds a way to land in lived experience.

This entry was posted on December 30, 2025 at 10:50 pm and is filed under Uncategorized with tags Addiction, Alcoholism, bible, Courage to Change, faith, god, Journal, Life, love, mental-health, Personal, Recovery, Spirituality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.