“When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically.”
The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 64
In all the things that have unfolded in this past pandemic year, my recovering life has kept on a fairly good path for the most part. When in-person meetings were suspended, online meeting offerings emerged a-plenty to fill the fellowship void. Phone contacts and spiritual walks [masked and at proper distance] with recovery friends continued. My work with others individually beginning a recovering life, as well as working with a team to develop a diocesan recovery ministry program resources have kept this semi-retired priest busy. Life has been good on life’s terms overall. And then …
I was donating blood at the end of April as part of the parish outreach program where I am serving part-time. In preparation for the donation, check-in procedures were conducted – temperature check, the multiple Covid questions to be asked, and blood pressure taken. The intake nurse noted that my BP was rather high by the concerned look on her face. She suggested it might be good to check in with my physician. And then … It was obvious to me that something must have been wrong with her BP measurement! I went to a local pharmacy and used their machine – and it registered higher than the first reading. I tried again a few days later with the same result.
My first reaction was to return to my old patterns of “stinking thinking” as those CD’s [and I don’t mean Compact Discs] subtly emerged again after all these years – All these machines must be wrong … I am in good health, just look in the mirror … They can’t be right! I had taken to steering my old frigate called Rationalization to sail down that River of Denial again. And then …
I remembered what the program has taught me. I stopped, prayed for God’s wisdom and will, and listened. From this place of grounding in the spiritual Presence, I called my doctor for an appointment and check of my blood pressure. No surprise it was still too high, and so I began with medication support and reconfiguring my diet – not that ANYONE’S diet has not been out of sync this past year!! In essence, I grounded in myself in the principles of what the program or a recovering life has taught me – Do the next right thing and the next thing right. And then … on the day of my 24th AAnniversary, the reading from the Daily Meditations was the title of this offering! Who says there are coincidences in the world? For me, they are only God-incidences for which I am grateful.
Life happens. Our health changes as we grow more “mature” in chronological ways. Thanks be to God for this program of recovering life I have been blessed to live. I am off my frigate called Rationalization, off the river called Denial.
I am responsible. I am grateful.
Paul G.
Newark Delaware