For my entire first month in recovery I lived in dread of an unknown future that I no longer could control. I did not know how this latest problem was going to end and some of the possibilities were terrifying. Every waking minute I was consumed with incomprehensible demoralization and outright fear. Sleep was rare and riddled with nightmares and soaking the bed with sweat.

I was baptized at the First Southern Baptist Church in Phoenix, AZ when I was in middle school. Mom had taken me to Sunday School from as far back as I can remember. About the time I started high school, however, the church moved from downtown Phoenix to West Phoenix and we moved to East Phoenix. Between my adolescence and the distance, we quit going to church and my spiritual growth stopped. Little did I know, the mustard seeds had been planted. Now, 40 years later, my life depended upon growing the seeds that laid dormant within me. I was Christian by belief and faith but never by practice and I most certainly had never even thought of relying on God to return me to sanity and, after that, taking over my life.

It was at this moment that my faith in God’s power was transformed into knowledge. This was the first of a few such occurrences that have molded the last 8 years and 5 months of my life.

Over my years in recovery I have become aware of several different pathways to sobriety. I have direct personal contact with two of these and am pretty familiar with a third. All three of these share one thing in common, spiritual strength. I started in the AA program which, in turn, led me back to my church. Some AA axioms are a good place to start.

• No human power could relieve our alcoholism.
• We came to believe that God will restore us to sanity.
• We claim spiritual progress not spiritual perfection.
• The point is to grow along spiritual lines.

God’s grace is our greatest gift. No matter how low we have gone, all we need is the slightest bit of willingness and openness to allow God to enter our life. Like a small spark can start a fire, God will work within any open heart. Once our transformation begins it progresses for the rest of life hence our axiom, “We claim spiritual progress not spiritual perfection.”

This brings me back to my church. Eight years ago I found Harvest ending a three month “church search.” That first Sunday, Pastor Brian’s message spoke so directly to my growing AA program, I was simply amazed. I wondered if he had experience or knowledge of the program. As time passed and he and I became friends, I learned that pure Christ driven theology is exactly what AA’s founding father’s based the program. It didn’t take long for me to understand that my AA program and my church were not separate things. They were two parts of the same thing and God unites it all.

Starting this week and running to Easter, Pastor Brian provided “The Spiritual Growth Challenge,” five days of study and prayer specifically designed to improve our direct connection to God. Again, compare this church challenge to the AA axioms I listed above. For me, AA and Harvest Community Church are two equal halves of my recovery.

We are easily distracted creatures. Some people can focus better than most but even at our very best, our attention is easily drawn away. Compared to the rest of the animal kingdom I would say we are pretty average in this regard. For my dogs, squirrels on the fence take priority over food. This being the case, our recovery is under constant attack as people, places, and things bombard our senses with temptations that could lure us away from God’s will and our path of sobriety.

“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.”

As I believe I mentioned in my last post, opening ourselves to God’s will is proper use of our self will. Tapping into His power is the only way we can overcome distraction … at least some. We are still flesh and the flesh yearns attention. Yet another condition of powerlessness and its closely related to substance abuse. This is why we must seek a close connection to God. Fortunately, this is exactly what He wants for us, too, so all we have to do is be open and He will come in and provide what we need. I’m not saying “what we want,” mind you. He provides what we NEED, and that’s enough. Clearly, a big part of this need is to keep us focused on His will for us in our daily lives. Still, we must constantly work to maintain and improve our conscious contact with God. Taking moments through the day to simply stop and listen. Clear the mind of clutter and allow God to enter. Once present with Him, have a conversation. Let Him know your concerns and ask for His vision and the power to carry it out.

These actions will defeat distraction. These actions will draw us closer to God and will build personal serenity and security in a world that is often far from either.