A RESPONSE IN THE HEART

Those in recovery learn the value in their lives of accepting, internalizing, and living The Twelve Steps. Not coincidentally, they begin with the simple notion “there is a Higher Power, and it is not me.”

Step 1: “We admitted we were powerless – that our lives had become unmanageable.”

Step 2: “We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”

Step 3: “We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.”

I recently heard Father Nathan Cromley speak about the apostle James who, when he asked if he could sit at the right hand of God, was asked if he could “drink the cup…” which those in recovery might translate “do the work?”

James was then told, “Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.”  Those in recovery would humbly read that as “a Power greater than ourselves.”

As I watch and admire the process of recovery, I can easily relate it to a modern-day apostolate. Crowley’s description transfers so directly…

“their light, the impact that their life makes upon the world, reveals to us something of the heart of the one who called him, who summoned that light, who called for that response.”

It takes incredible boldness to “drink the cup” – do the work.  So many of us would prefer to remain anonymous, but those in recovery must call on the passion of the soul, drink from the cup, and eventually carry their message of recovery to others… not remaining anonymous.

Step 12: “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.”

True recovery, then is really for all of us.  It means social justice, doing what’s right when it’s not popular, and not choosing to hide in anonymity. We cannot change our culture if we choose to hide in anonymity. Do we dare to show that boldness? Do we dare to connect so intimately with our Higher Power, whether we choose to call that Power God, or the Universe, or our own chosen name? Can we can lose our own sense of anonymity and connect with the heritage of our divinity to change the things we need to change in our culture and in our world?

Let’s all learn from the Twelve Steps.  Let’s learn from the modern-day apostles who are our sisters and brothers in recovery.  Our love and connection with our Higher Power can drive us out of anonymity and into creativity, connection, productivity, newness, and amazing growth. Our Higher Power is not just calling us to perform tasks other people can do, but rather calling us to perform the tasks that no one else will do. That original gift of love that is our life, our response to recovery, is ours to spread.

Perhaps the real gift of the Twelve Steps is learning the courage required to leave yesterday, and start to spread the word of a better tomorrow.

If we feel called to intimacy with our Higher Power...

If we are asked to share the inner depths of our soul with our Higher Power… Will we be willing to be known by that call, claimed by that call, individually? Because if we are, then we’re going to dare to give a response.

Love is not anonymous. Love does not allow us to hide. Loves summons our greatness, our courage, our strength, our dedication… and it summons us to action. In great things and in small, it’s not a question of the size of the project, but of the boldness with which we undertake it.

That sort of response is anything but anonymous. It is a response from the heart, touching the heart of others. That kind of courage never allows us to stop bringing love to others. We are not driven to despair, because when we are centered in our Higher Power, we innovate, we change, we pivot, we move, but we never stop. We do not allow discouragement or obstacles in our way to stop that drive inside of us to make our Higher Power known through service to others.

Let us seek the courage to have a response in the heart to this call, and in turn, touch the tomorrows of people we haven’t even met.