"We don't struggle." — Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 88
The struggle is real.
Letting in the light of God ain't always an easy task. Life hits sometimes, and it hits hard. Sometimes we flip out and make things worse. It happens. We have a step to tidy that up if need be. When stress shows up, we can wiggle, squirm, and struggle to keep these character defects at bay. In those moments, we may have to mash that built-in pause button like a ten-cent slot machine on a winning streak just to keep from reacting. The good news is that the more we practice, the easier it gets. Little by little, something in our hearts starts to eclipse that sick part of our minds. We settle down. We pray instead of react. We listen instead of lash out. What once felt impossible starts becoming a moment-by-moment way of living.
Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is walk away for a minute and hit pause. After all, nothing—absolutely nothing—needs our immediate attention when we're all fired up. We're allowed to take a break. We're allowed to remove ourselves from the situation until the right thought or action comes. That's the promise behind "We don't struggle." It doesn't mean life stops happening. It means that over time, we stop fighting everything and everyone around us. We learn to pause, pray, and let God do some of the heavy lifting. The struggle is real. But the promise is real too. If we keep practicing this way of life, eventually we find ourselves struggling a little less and trusting a little more.
Have you ever made a situation worse because you couldn't hit pause in time?
