Why We Profit From Walking Through Pain – Brad C.

There used to be a popular country song that began with the words, Detour, there's a muddy road ahead. It goes on to warn about the dire results of not heeding the detour sign. Listening to the individual stories at meetings over the years, it has become obvious to me that every one of us has ignored the warning signs, the detOUR signs that have appeared before us as we travel down the destructive road of an alcoholic. Alcoholics are special people, and God has a plan for every one of us. But booze took us on another route, an easier route, a broad pathway to decadence and self-indulgence. Our stories always include descriptions of lost opportunities, families destroyed, huge amounts of money lost, trouble with the law, sometimes very serious trouble. In other words, a pattern of destructive behavior that takes us on a road far away from the road we originally embarked upon, and no matter how bad that road becomes, and how big the warning signs, we ignore everything except our own selfish, egotistical demands fired by the consuming fuel of alcohol. However, if we let God to do His work, He will restore us. The 12 steps of AA on page 59 in the Big Book very clearly provide a blueprint showing us how to rebuild our lives. But as with any project, every detail must be followed exactly if we are to be successful. Although in the beginning many of us resisted every mention of a higher power, particularly God, and did not believe that prayer worked or that God would do anything for us, nevertheless when we take step 11, sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, we find that our lives begin to change for the better. And eventually we realize that we have a loving, heavenly Father always with us no matter what we are or what the circumstances may be. And that He does hear our prayers and respond to them. This doesn't mean that AA is going to create a state of utopia for us and that we will never again have problems. The Lord allows pain or suffering. Trials strengthen our faith. We profit from walking through pain more than we do from avoiding it. When our Heavenly Father knows us best, He doesn't keep us from suffering. Instead, He gives us wisdom and strength to endure whatever the problem is. God really wants us to have everything we need, and He never calls us to tasks for which we are not prepared. Upon reaching the other side and declaring victory over the problem, we realize how he has guided us through the situation and how much better the results are of following the directions they're much better than anything we could have possibly done by ourselves. In my own experience when I attended the first AA meeting and made the decision to heed the detour signs and take the road away from the destructive highway I had been going down my life changed dramatically for the better. Instead of bouncing helplessly over huge bumps or waving my life away mired in deep mud holes, unable to think clearly for the buffeting I was taking, suddenly a sense of peace came upon me and I realized for the first time in a long while I could actually see things the way they really were. Instead of living among strangers absorbed solely in their own self-centered lives, I was surrounded by caring friends who shared the same problems and situations that I had been living through. The detour I found myself traveling proved to be an easy drive along a well-marked road accompanied by many caring friends, always ready to point me in the right direction. I had a strong feeling of security, and for the first time in many years there was direction and purpose in my life. I became convinced that soon I would be back on a main highway, different than the one I had originally been on, but better and more exciting and fulfilling. Now each time that I turn to the Lord in prayer, it was with a sure knowledge and faith that He really is in control. As my heart fills with gratitude for all that He has done in my life since coming to AA, I can truthfully say when you find out there is nothing left but God that is when you find out