The very next day the farmer was in his field when he looked up on the hill beyond and saw his beautiful white stallion. Behind his beautiful white stallion were four more white stallions just as beautiful as his. All the people from the village came running out to the farmer saying, "It's a good thing you didn't trade your beautiful white stallion for a quarter of the king's kingdom, as now you have FIVE beautiful white stallions. You could probably get half of the king's kingdom now!" The farmer said, "I don't know if it's a good thing, I don't know if it's a bad thing, all I know is I now have five beautiful white stallions."
The very next day the farmer's son was breaking in one of the wild white stallions when he was thrown from the stallion and broke both of his legs. So now, all the people from the village came running out to the farmer saying, "What a bad thing that has happened to you. You need your son to work in the fields and now he can't as he has two broken legs." The farmer replied, "I don't know if it's a good thing, I don't know if it's a bad thing, all I know is that my son has two broken legs."
The very next day the kingdom goes to war and all the able-bodied men are drafted into the army after which they will go to the front end and they will surely die. The farmer's injured son could not go as he had two broken legs. So, all the people from the village came running out to the farmer saying, "That is a good thing that your son was thrown from the wild white stallion and broke both his legs, as he would have been drafted into the army, been sent to the front end and would have surely died." The farmer replied, "I don't know if it's a good thing, I don't know if it's a bad thing, all I know is my son can't go as he has two broken legs."
The moral of the story is that we are not to judge what is occurring in our life as "good" or "bad", but to have faith and trust in God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.Written by Armand
Armand,
ReplyDeleteThis is truly one of the most miraculous apprehensions of deep faith and humility that can be acquired. Resting in the absolute understanding that Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose," is the cornerstone upon which experiential serenity is constructed. Many thanks for once again teasing this topic to life.
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic.
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic the purpose of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is to pray only for knowledge of God's will for us and the Power to carry it out...Thank you...Armand
DeleteAnxiety, worry, impulsiveness, too many decisions, too much cleanup - all directly proportionate to my level of trust. As a naturally judgmental, fear-based alcoholic, my inclination is to fire, ready, aim. This tendency is rooted in the dark and negative part of my nature, the short side of the stick part. Since I possess a paucity of patience, I self-defeat on command and I am the commander. Result: nothing but pain. It has only been by incorporating all Twelve Steps into my life in a way that they have become my life that I have found the trust to not pronounce everything as a good thing or a bad thing. The key is to first be aware of The Power Within, then to improve my conscious contact with That Power through the salvific action of each inter-related Step. The answers, like the white stallions, are up there on the hill. The Steps lead us there.
ReplyDeleteMichael trust in God is the road that an alcoholic must travel if they are to recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body...Thank you...Armand
ReplyDelete11. "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out." Every step is in the order it is for a reason and Step 11 is no exception. All are written in the past perfect tense in the form of a testimony and as such forms a collective a deposition and map of a journey on the road less traveled with a simple clarity seldom encountered in secular writings.
ReplyDeleteFor in AA we do not "work" Step 11 as though it were a point on the great "check list to recovery" as some may suppose or propose. The journey itself is the destination inspired and ultimately, through Gods grace, fervently desired. It is; in its entirety, God's gift to everyone who is willing to embrace the immutable truth of His Word and undeniable Presence of His Person the moment "We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."
This "Fruit of the Spirit" is a never ending story and manifestation of the divinely desired relationship, once locked in eternity and now inspired into our consciousness moment by moment, day by day as we pass through this life called space and time. And although it was always a part of His great plan I know now that my personal epiphany began the instant I "Admitted I was an alcoholic and that my life had become unmanageable" and that, as the poet has written, "has made all the difference", for I am convinced that the Creator of All continues to lovingly conform every aspect of life into His personal prayer and vision.
12. "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs". As the old desires are being systematically swept away, I'm compelled to inwardly nurture and surrender to this ongoing and ever broadening relationship with the Creator, Maintainer and Lover of my soul. I have, become a new creation.
Just as the 11th step bears witness to my understanding that it is God Alone who is the instigation and inspiration for my desire to commune with and please Him in all that He has called me to accomplish, any personal confusion over the principal priority for my life dissolves as His ultimate plan and purpose is made immediately clear in the very core of my being. Having once and forever been saved we're now called to be an "evangelist", that is, a witness to the Source of Eternal Truth.
And so, as this once desperately lived life begins to bear the unmistakable witness of Gods presence in the purpose for which I have eternally been created. The Holy Spirit who now resides within me is the magnet of promise that draws those still trapped inside the insatiable, desperate loneliness of a life without hope, to the Source of eternal serenity, peace and rest. "That one is God, may you find him now".
A Grateful Recovering Alcoholic
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic nothing to say but Amen my Brother...Thank you...Armand
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