For many that struggle with an addiction, there comes a time when the implementation of available treatments become exhausted. Be it alcohol, drugs, gambling or pornography, the pattern remains the same for those who have tried conventional methods, yet still tend to relapse when life comes crushing in.The Twelve Step recovery program has its merits, all based on a perception of surrender, which when interpreted correctly is not the same as giving up. In believing that we are more than a cellular mass, which deteriorates at a steady pace, there comes the understanding that man and woman have a spiritual fragment, whose end is a mystery to say the least.
Twelve Step recovery is not a program sponsored by any specific religious group on entity. However, people that use this program find it in harmony with their own deeply held spiritual beliefs. It has no official religious affiliation. It is, however, a unique program that helps us to rediscover and deepen the spiritual part of ourselves. We also come to understand that through working the twelve steps, that our spirituality is important. We learn to live our lives according to the guidance of God, our Higher Power. When used as intended, the steps are a profoundly powerful process for allowing God to heal an individuals damaged emotions.
The Twelve Step recovery process is a spiritual journey. It takes us from a life where we experience confusion and grief to a place of peace and serenity, one day at a time. Many changes can and will come over us, but they won’t happen all at once. The process will take time and much patience. God, in his time, instills in us the strength of character that only comes form a healthy relationship with him. A relationship that should grow over time.
Working the Twelve Steps with God’s help enables us to acknowledge much of our negative or repressed nature. This process is similar to sunlight and shadow. When we stand in the sunlight, we see that we cast a shadow. In the same way, as we begin to work the program and measure ourselves by God’s standards and principles, we can then see our need. Through our relationship with God we are able to redefine the limits we set for ourselves, and we discover that all things are possible for those that love God.
