I have charity, another word for love. That right kind of love which is not selfish passion but an unselfish, outgoing desire to help other people. To do what is best for the other person, to put what is best for him or her above my own desires. To put God first, the other person second, and myself last. Charity is gentle, kind, understanding, long-suffering, and full of desire to serve. A.A. has given me this. What I do for myself is lost; what I do for others may be written somewhere in eternity. Have I charity?
Meditation for the Day ~
"Ask what you will and it shall be done unto you." God has unlimited power. There is no limit to what His power can do in human hearts. But we must will to have God's power and we must ask God for it. God's power is blocked off from us by our indifference to it. We can go along our own selfish way without calling on God's help and we get no power. But when we trust in God, we can will to have the power we need. When we sincerely ask God for it, we get it abundantly.
Prayer for the Day ~
I pray that I may will to have God's power. I pray that I may keep praying for the strength I need.
Hazelden
(Let it be a God or Higher Power of your own understanding)
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Progress not perfection.. & Practice makes Progress!
There seems to be so many contradictory ideas in recovery between selfish & selflessness. I've found this one of the most troublesome paradoxes to get my head around but I interpret the above post to mean that I can take care & fulfill my own needs with the help of my Higher Power & friends in fellowship & life so that I am taken care of but that I can then offer this selfcare & love out genuinely without any tinge of people~pleasing or codependency. I don't want to be a caretaker but I can offer myself as a resource & care when I know it's coming from a good place & isn't self~seeking with some payoff for me. This is the fine line & balance between selfishness & altruism. I don't want my ego to get in the way by thinking I know the best for others. I want to offer what I have as an option & extra without disempowering anyone from their own responsibilty & reward of what they can do for themselves. I hope I have the right idea here. I'm still learning. Love in recovery, Danielle x
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Progress not perfection.. & Practice makes Progress!
