Step 2

Serenity. A journey through the 12 steps.

It is my belief that there is a great deal that can be learned from working the 12 steps every now and then. I also believe there is a great deal that can be gained, when families’ individuals that may be struggling with their own thoughts and actions a way to ground themselves by offering an additional tools to open the mind the body and the soul to change.  By taking the time to work through the steps you may learn something new about yourself as I have.

Step 2: Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

The step 2 phrase “came to believe” suggests a process and a progression of faith that evolves over time. A portion of A.A. oral tradition defines this as a three part unfolding. First, we came, that is, we showed up and stumbled in the door. Second, we came to, that is, we sobered up, came to our senses, and began to experience emotional sobriety. Third, we came to believe. We began our real recovery process and our spiritual growth. This style of spiritual growth closely parallels the strong Christian tradition that each person must come to an individual knowledge of God.

   Step 2 is a logical outgrowth of Step 1 because, if in Step 1, we have admitted our own powerlessness, then the next step is to seek a new source of strength or power to take charge for us and to make us sane (well and whole). For some people, spiritual conversion is dramatic as it was for the apostle Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). For most, however, it is very gradual. As on grows and matures emotionally, one also grows spiritually.

   Before we can welcome in a new Power to restore us to emotional and spiritual “housecleaning”.

1. We must bring into abstinence or balance all the addictive agents through which we have sought to meet our deepest needs. Money, sex, career, anything and everything about which we have become excessive, must be put into proper perspective. Not lifted onto a pedestal to be worshiped.
2. We must transcend the god of reason if we have been worshiping God through an exclusively intellectual approach.
3. We must renounce the tendency to play God ourselves. We must grow beyond selfishness, narcissism and grandiosity.
4. We must also renounce putting other people or human institutions in the roles of gods.

Not only must we be rid of false gods, if we are looking to the Judeo-Christian God as our higher Power, but we may also need to overcome old sources of bitterness toward Him.

1. We may have identified God with an abusive parent.
2. We may have had negative experiences with the church (hypocrisy, bigotry, condemnation).
3. We may be struggling with a sense that God has failed us, that he has allowed us to become codependent.
4. We may be angry that God has not instantaneously healed us of our addictive illnesses.

As we commit ourselves to a lifetime of recovery, our starting point may be our recovery literature. And that literature makes a valuable contribution toward the opening of spiritual doors. But if we really want to fill the void, if we really want to break down the barriers hindering our progress, we need to turn to the ultimate source of God’s word and discover what the Scriptures have to tell us. By exploring the Bible, We will discover more about his will for us.