Today's Gift for Families - May 2014

[MajestyJo]

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

You are reading from the book Today's Gift

If your life is ever going to get better, you'll have to take risks. There is simply no way you can grow without taking chances.
—David Viscott

One sunny day a caterpillar who was afraid of the dark came to a tunnel, which lay squarely in its path. It had a choice of going back where it started, or summoning the courage to crawl into the darkness. "What shall I do?" wondered the caterpillar. "If I go back home, I won't get where I want to go, but I'm so afraid!"

Just then, a voice called out from the tunnel. "I can hear you, Mr. Caterpillar. I am Mr. Beetle. I am here in the tunnel and I can see the other end. If you come through, you won't lose your fear of the dark, but you will get where you want to go."

We are all like the caterpillar once in a while. But if we let our fear stop us from doing things, which are necessary to our growth, we will never realize what courage we really have.

Is my fear a necessary part of new experiences?

I know there are healthy fears. I don't walk in from of a bus and expect that my God will put His Hand down and grab me by the scruff of the neck and say, "Don't go there."

What kept me sober for the first few months, until I could detox enough to understand and work the program, was fear of going back to where I came from. I didn't want to detox again. I didn't want to stand in the way of my son's addiction, I had to let go and let His God lead and guide him. I had to realize I was not his Higher Power, and live and let live.

Every once in a while, I have trouble grasping onto hope, and fear he will dies as a result of his disease. I had to realize it was his choice, and I didn't have the power to change him. All I could do was work my own program and lead by example.

It was a real risk to ask him to leave and he ended up in shelters and was homeless. I feared that I was a bad mom, but I needed to practice tough love. It is not easy to be a good member of Al-Anon and a mother too.