Letting Go- Surrender and Seeking

One thing we learn when we practice the eleventh step is that we can let go, surrender to and seek God’s will.

These are fine ideas but impossible to execute if the “god” of our understanding does not rescue little girls from sexual predators or abusive fathers. It is a challenge to trust a “god” when people chalk up death and disaster as “God’s will.”

This kind of God? How can we trust that? My friend Terri had to unlearn God stuff as did I. In the beginning of my recovery, the idea that God wanted to love me without condition was a radical concept for me. The practices of my early faith reflected an unspoken belief that God is hungry, angry, and distant. If I really looked closely at my rigid practices my relationship with God was more like my grandchildren’s relationship with the animals at the local petting zoo.

Feed him (God takes cash or credit cards these days) and don’t stand too close or you might get your fingers bit off. As we pray and meditate, our confusions and fears and ignorance will rise up and greet us on occasion. Instead of giving up, go looking for spiritual advisors who understand God’s character - gracious, merciful, loving and desirous of blessing and healing us.