Karen Casey - In Gods Care: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery

Hazelden Publishing

Center City, Minnesota 55012

hazelden.org/bookstore

1991 by Hazelden Foundation

All rights reserved. Published 1991.

No part of this publication, either print or electronic, may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the express written permission of the publisher. Failure to comply with these terms may expose you to legal action and damages for copyright infringement.

ISBN: 978-0-89486-725-5

ISBN: 978-1-5928-5799-9 (ebook)

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number:

90-71109

Editors note

In the process of being reissued in 2019, In Gods Care has undergone minor editing updates.

Cover design: Terri Kinne

Those of us in AA and other Twelve Step programs seek to strengthen our understanding of our Higher Power. The Third Step asks us to turn our will and our life over to the care of God, as we understand God. Perhaps we falter from time to time and have to ask ourselves anew what this means.

We can look back to an earlier time in our life and know that a Higher Power must have been protecting us, guiding us, saving us from harms way. But on a daily basis we often lose our sense of Gods presence and feel fearful.

Our security is as certain as our knowledge that our Higher Power is never more than a thought or a prayer away. We may want to feel this at all times, but fortunately our program friends and sponsors remind us that this is a daily program of action. Practicing the presence of God sums up what we, the authors, believe to be our daily task, and the meditations that follow have been written to help you do that.

Two of us have collaborated on these meditations, and you will hear both of our voices as you read. We each have come to believe in a loving God as our Higher Power after many years of sober Twelve Step living. Its our shared belief that the sustained serenity and joy we desire is guaranteed each time we remember to remember that a loving Higher Power is always present, and to feel that presence we must get our ego out of the way. Asking ourselves what God would have us do in a situation, and listening for Gods direction, will always clarify what our next move should be. Weve taken what we have learned about spirituality from sponsors, meetings, and practicing the Twelve Steps over many years of sobriety and have come to believe that our Higher Power asks only that we cultivate a loving heart and then let it guide our thoughts, feelings, desires, and actions.

We alcoholics and addicts insist on complicating our life. We did it masterfully for years. But the power of this Twelve Step program lies in its simplicity. And simply speaking, our Higher Power is here, now, and in charge of our life. Our assignment is to move our ego aside and follow our loving and sane spirit. We believe we can keep our daily living simple and serene. Lets love and respect one another; lets learn from one another and the circumstances surrounding us; and lets rely on God, as we understand God, to guide us gently through the bumpy terrain.

We hope what we have to share will be helpful to you as you travel your recovery path. Our vision, our understanding of God, may differ from yours, but we share with you the desire for peace and joy. And we have discovered that the more we adhere to the principles of this simple program, letting our Higher Power take charge of our life, the more certain we are of the peace and joy we deserve.

May the days ahead be gentle ones as you cultivate your relationship with God in whose care you have always been.

In fellowship,

Karen Casey and Homer Pyle

Solitude is not something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present.

Thomas Merton

Real love is a permanently self-enlarging experience.

M. Scott Peck

Observing the stately calm of an elderly couple on a park bench or watching children boisterously chasing their playmates; noting the comfort of a worn path through a park or hearing the wildness of wind in a tree filled with chirping birds can bring home to us the miracle of Gods worlda world teeming with life, full of contrasts. Its a world that has a special place for each of us.

Letting the rapture of this miracle wash over us changes us wholly, in the wholeness of the moment. We cannot doubt Gods love for the universe when we enter undemandingly, unquestioningly the wondrous current of life.

And how remarkable, how miraculous our recovery is: yet another gift from God, one we show gratitude for each time we offer a loving glance or thoughtful, caring remark to another of Gods miracles.

We will grow in understanding and appreciation and self-assurance with each loving action we take.

I will help myself grow today.

Not only then has each man his individual relation to God, but each man has his peculiar relation to God.

George MacDonald

Each of us sees and experiences God in a way somehow unique to us. No two people see things exactly alike. Thats why our program has no dogma. Each of us is encouraged to follow a spiritual path that seems to have been created for us. And we need not worry if were on the right one, because every path leads to God. Would God let us lose our way? Of course not. We will know if a course correction is needed, and God will lead us to it.

Each of us understands God in a way no one else does. Theres a place in Gods love for each of us. And out of that place we can bring light to other people, just as our own special people have brought their light to us.

I will cultivate my unique vision of God so that I may bring light to someone else.

You have freedom when youre easy in your harness.

Robert Frost

Flowing with whatever comes to us in life eases us through each days demands. When we resist change and the unfamiliar, we imprison ourselves and hide from Gods invitations to grow. Only when we willingly experience Gods lessons with trust and faith, and see them as blessings, are we able to wholeheartedly join in the stream of life.

With God in our life, what we once regarded as coincidence becomes the order of the day. Every situation and encounter weave threads in the tapestry of our life, as we in turn are threads in the tapestry of others lives.

The pattern unfolds every day that we live trusting that each moment is meant to bless us, educate us, and invite us to contribute our unique and necessary talents. God is here, now, guiding us. We only need to peacefully follow.

I will take it easy today in the sure knowledge that God will provide me with whatever I need.

Do not be unnaturally humble. The thought of your mind, perchance, is the thought of God. To refuse to follow that may be to disown God.

Frederick William Robertson

How often has a thought that was strangely appealing entered our mind, but we dismissed it? It might have been an impulse to compliment someone. Or, spotting a glum-looking friend, we may have wanted to ask if we could help. How often have we stifled such thoughts for fear our words might be taken amiss? After all, we remind ourselves, we arent God.

But we dont have to be God to have Godly thoughts. When we wont believe that we are in tune with our Higher Power, arent we saying that God cant communicate with us? Arent we putting a limit on Gods power? Whenever we ask for Gods help, our mind is at one with God. And whenever we feel out of sync with God, we need only change our mind. We know when we are not thinking Godly thoughts. And we know when we are.