"I pray that You now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to You and my fellows."
Alcoholics can be sensitive people. Sometimes alcoholism is called a disease of perception. We've heard people say we have a magic magnifying mind. We can take just about anything and blow it completely out of proportion. Not getting a job. Wondering what people think of us. Feeling left out. Being criticized. And somehow we almost never magnify the good stuff.
Our spiritual illness loves to convince us that we're disconnected, rejected, alone, or somehow not enough. The scary part is how fast it can happen. One thought can change the direction of our whole day.
If we're truly powerless over not getting the job, over someone else's half-cocked opinion of us, or over whatever story our minds are telling us today, maybe we don't have to fight it alone. We can stop, admit that we're powerless over where our thinking is taking us, and humbly ask God to remove the shortcomings that are standing between us and being useful.
Sometimes the situation doesn't change. But our perception of it does. And a lot of times, that's the miracle we needed all along.
What's something your mind tends to magnify that you could turn over today?
