Follow Directions…

I am a decent cook. I used to be a good cook. Cooking has taught me many things.

Growing up in the 70’s & 80’s, I ate my fair share of casseroles. Back then, I was not a fan. There were too many things mixed together. I wanted food that I could identify. My mother wanted to wash one dish.

I decided that I would cook like my grandmother who grew a garden and cooked from its bounty. She was also a master baker of breads and sweets. That is what I wanted to do.

I started studying cookbooks. Reading recipes helped me choose which ones to make based on whether I liked the ingredient combination–or not. Very quickly, I learned that when I strayed from the recipe, using a little more of the ingredients I liked or a little less of the ones that I didn’t, the dish would not be as good as I hoped. Balance in cooking is important.

I also learned that if I strayed from the way I mixed my ingredients, it might not turn out. Cooking is science after all. Bread-baking is the most sensitive cooking of all. Not only do I have to follow directions, the conditions of my kitchen have to be just right.

I think that cooking is a lot like recovery. It is important to get help outside of myself. I will never find a recipe that fixes my loved ones. It does not matter if I pray certain prayers such as novenas or rosaries everyday, I can’t fix another person.

I need that outside help because I am powerless over others. The minute that I think that I will bypass an uncomfortable step or ‘help my loved one, one more time’ I am interfering with the work of my higher power.

In recovery we say that God stands for ‘good orderly direction.’ When I feel the first twinges of discomfort, I have to stop and assess the situation. Am I trying to follow what I think will be the way forward or am I asking my higher power for direction?

In order for me to remember to ask for help, I need to check the condition of my heart. Am I attempting to let God into my world? Or am I trying to live in God’s world? There is a big difference. Living in God’s world helps me see my place in this relationship that I have with God. What does he want me to do in his world today? When I live in. God’s world, possibilities appear everywhere. And God does the heavy lifting.

Recovery really is a ‘one day at a time’ endeavor. Everyday, I need a daily reprieve just as the alcoholic does. “Help me Lord, to wait to seek your will and then have the courage to follow it.” Amen.

Follow Directions. Don’t try to wing it. The stakes are too high. You have help at the tip of your prayers–one who knows all and can do all. Why would we ever try to do it alone?