Walk In Dry Places

By Mel B.

Releasing the Past

"We will not regret the past nor fear the future," goes one of the promises in Twelve Step programs. Neither the past nor the future should control what we're thinking and doing today. After all, if our Higher Power is everything, no person or action can be outside of this supreme control.

Today, I will rise above anything that was said or done in the past. I will also hold the idea that the future is bright with promise, and that this promise will be fulfilled. Nobody's opinion or criticism can be unsettling to me if my beliefs and self-worth are anchored in my Higher Power.

It's true that there might have been lots of wreckage in the past--even more recently when we have been living sober. It doesn't matter. In amazing ways, our Higher Power sometimes turns negative conditions into future benefits. This was actually what happened when our compulsive condition led directly to a new way of life.

I will accept life today and will look for unexpected blessings. No person or group can keep me from good as I accept God's direction in my life.

"In all your ways acknowledge [God, who] shall direct your paths." I'll remember this frequently as I go about the day.

More Meditations

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A Sober Mom's Guide to Recovery: Taking Care of Yourself to Take Care of Your Kids, by Rosemary O'Connor

Supermom in Recovery -- Frazzled and Emotionally Spent
Supermom--running around like a basket case with an endless to-do list trying to please everyone and ending up frazzled and exhausted. Before recovery, this was my life. I have witnessed many mothers (including myself) fly around in the Supermom cape at speeds faster than lightning so we don't have to stop and feel the feelings of not being enough. We often don't stop to realize the impact our Supermom role has on our children.

Eight Reasons Why Detaching with Love is Good for Your Addicted Loved One
Anyone who has ever attended a Twelve Step meeting knows that detachment looms large in the toolkit of suggestions for coping with an addicted loved one. "Detach with love", we are told,"if you want to preserve your sanity."Detachment is neither unloving nor unkind. It is simply accepting the fact that we can not live our loved ones' lives for them.

Addict in the Family: Revised and Updated by Beverly Conyers

Relapse and Consequences
I knew on an intellectual level that relapse is part of the process of recovery. Yet the emotional punch of relapse always caused me heartache and pain.

Daybreak: Meditations for Women Survivors of Sexual Abuse

Stress
No one can avoid stress, yet we can help ourselves out of it by not getting stuck going round and round inside it and feeling victimized by being stuck.

The Promise of A New Day, A Book of Daily Meditations by Karen Casey and Martha Vanceburg

Life Lessons
It is not our smooth passages that reveal new understandings, but the strenuous, uphill battles that benefit us with the knowledge we need to grow.

Jodie Gould, author of High: Six Principles for Guilt-Free Pleasure and Escape

Are You Connected
Studies have shown that feeling a part of a family, circle of friends, and community throughout our lifetime helps stave off depression and, of course, loneliness, while keeping our minds vibrant. There is also some evidence that spending time with others can even increase our longevity.

Lisa Woititz, author of Unwelcome Inheritance: Break Your Family's Cycle of Addictive Behavior

8 Things That ACOAs Can Do To Outwit Depression
Many of us who have alcoholism or other addictions in our families suffer from depression to some degree. We've gone to self-help groups and therapists for a number of years, hoping that if we can uncover hidden emotional issues that the feeling of hopelessness will disappear.

Codependency and Addictive Thinking
When we ACoAs look at the tapestry that is our family history, we discover that there's so much more than meets the eye. While we cannot change that history, the good news is that we can obtain skills and learn new ways of behaving and thinking that can change things for the better when it comes to ourselves and our children and their children.

Morning Light, a book of meditations to begin your day

Strength and Determination
Imagine that today represents the starting line to a race. Behind you are the months of training that infused your mind, body, and spirit with great strength and stamina. Ahead of you lies the finish line, at a point you cannot yet see.

Lisa Woititz, author of Unwelcome Inheritance

Three Biggest Myths about ACoAs
There are a lot of myths about ACoAs and what recovery looks like for us. To keep from getting stuck in a pivotal phase in your healing process, it is important to understand the facts.