Making tomorrow better…

“All I want from tomorrow, is to get it better than today” sang Huey Lewis in his song “Jacob’s Ladder” back in the late 80’s.  Jacob’s ladder is a spiritual song that reminds me of the step by step process of the 12 steps.  The 12 steps are a great way to rid ourselves of anything we are in bondage to.  Bondage means that something is standing in the way between us and our relationship with God.  Bondage prevents us from being all the Lord wants us to be.

The Christian Twelve Steps:

1.  We admitted we were powerless over the effects of our separation from God, that our lives had become unmanageable.

2.  Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3.  Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

4.  Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5.  Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6.  Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7.  Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8.  Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

9.  Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

All of the steps are important and vital in order to live a happy, joyous and free recovery life.  The first 3 steps are all about “giving up” and surrendering to a power greater than ourselves (God/Jesus), steps 4 thru 9 help us “clean up” the wreckage of the past and steps 10 thru 12 help us “grow up” and become responsible spiritual beings.

After step 1 there is no step more important than the other.  In order to overcome whatever we are in bondage to it is imperative to work the steps in the order they are written.  Once the steps have all been worked, it is vital to do steps 10 thru 12 on a daily basis.  Step 10 allows us to keep things “cleaned up” while Steps 11 and 12 remind us of our powerlessness and the freedom we gain by practicing the steps in all our affairs and helping others.

If you are having trouble with “getting tomorrow better than today” there is a good chance you are skipping the all important daily “clean up” step…step 10.  Taking a daily personal inventory (step 10) means taking the time before checking in at night to reflect on the day’s activities and noting areas we may have hurt another person or maybe did things with the wrong motives.  It is important to take a look at anything that is bothering us and giving us anxiety and see where we may have played a part in creating this anxiety.  If we don’t continue to “clean up” it is virtually impossible to “grow up.”

John tells us in 1 John 1:8-9 “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.  But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”  James also hits on step 10 in James 1:21 “So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.”

A great way to make sure your tomorrow is better than today is to do a solid 10th step every night.

P.E.A.C.E.