For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

Psalm‬ ‭56‬:‭13‬

REFLECTION

In the springtime of our addiction nothing hurts.

There is a calming peacefulness right behind each drink, each drug, each vice. The allure is strong, and it pays dividends.

The pain comes later.

Sometimes a lot later.

Sometimes hidden underneath the binges.

Sometimes behind excuses.

Sometimes welling within and unknown except for a fickle uneasiness.

We don’t always see the warning signs. We aren’t always looking for them.

But the alarming fact is that at some point we start seeing them and promptly ignoring or making excuses for them.

Springtime is over. We skirt the pain by drinking more. We know we’re cheating.

Stepping toward sobriety for the first time, we muster what we think is courage from another bender. We know we’ve got to move past the pain, but we load ourselves with more of it instead.

Recovery begins in a landslide. Moving beyond the pain requires being bathed in it.

But surrender is giving up the fight, not giving up on what’s to come.

God, give me courage to dive into this new life.

2025 PLANNING

I’ve been thinking about what Progress & Perfection will look like next year. You can read more of my thoughts about it here.

For now, though👇

NEXT STEPS

When you’re ready, here are some tools for you:

1. Book List (amazon link)
   Some of my favorite reads related to recovery and/or wrestling with faith.

2. 4th Step Guide (free download)
   A PDF with instructions and worksheets for a thorough 4th step. Straight from the Big Book. Fearlessness not included.

3. 12-Step Christianity (YouTube)
   My thoughts on the parallels between discipleship and sponsorship.

KEEP LEANING FORWARD

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Cheers, Eamonn
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