We are rapidly approaching the holiday season. Many of us in the recovery community have difficulty with the holidays. I can remember my holiday experience during my first year of sobriety. I doubled up on my 12 Step meeting attendance. I was only 4 months sober and the holidays brought out emotions I had not yet dealt with as a sober person. Most of these emotions were guilt and shame related. These emotions are of the devil and he loves to remind us of our shortcomings. As a transformed person we need to do whatever we need to do to not let the devil have his way with us.
The holidays are a time to be grateful for what we have and it is hard to do that when we are stuck in thinking about our past behaviors and experiences. I thank God that I no longer struggle with the holidays as the changes I’ve made in my life allow me to live in the moment and enjoy the moment. The past is just that and I choose to leave it there.
Some keys to staying in the moment and enjoying the moment and in turn enjoying the holidays:
1. Put on your armor daily Ephesians 6:10-12 A final word: be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” In this scripture Paul goes on to tell us that the armor includes truth, righteousness, peace, faith and salvation.
2. Hang around others who put the armor on daily.
3. Stay away from faces, places and spaces that try to take your armor off
4. Make a gratitude list of everything you have to be grateful for and look at it daily.
5. Thank God for your blessings every night before you go to sleep.
These 5 keys are not only a great way to make it through the emotional times of the holiday season but a great way to live your life.
P.E.A.C.E
I have to tell you that your writings have really been confirming what God has been telling me lately. I agree with your action steps and I have really had a tough time letting go of those relationships that subtract from God. It is so easy for me to be pulled down and trampled on by the negativity of some folks in my life (especially if I haven’t put on my armor!). A scripture that I have been meditating on lately is James 4:7. We are told to RESIST the devil and he will flee from you. I looked up resist and its meaning is to exert oneself so as to defeat. I am coming to understand that this is a daily action step I need to do. One day at a time… sometimes one hour at a time but I am getting there!
What is hard sometimes is to understand that those people, places and things that we must resist are simply mediums for the devil to work in. We take it personally but the people, places and things the devil works through, in most instances, don’t know they are being used because they are clueless about how the devil and Holy Spirit work. That’s why having the armor on allows us to love those the devil is using in spite of how much they hurt us.