AN INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT

From my 1880s meditation book: "When we do our work in the great present...we are like to Him with whom there is no past or future...We walk without fear, full of hope and courage and strength to do His will, waiting for the endless good which He is always giving as fast as He can get us able to take it in." G. Mc Donald .....sent by 12 Step Jan
To our Readers: If you would like to share an inspirational thought or a saying that perked your ears at a meeting and helped your recovery, please send it to hngbook@gmail.com .

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Year in Review

Last New Years we gathered with friends for an AA fellowship picnic in our local park under the majestic shadow of the Catalina Mountains. The location was chosen to accomodate the wheelchair of an AA member who was mostly homebound due to a succession of illnesses over the last years. In January and February, Michael and I raced stick boats along the washes, ecstatic with the unusual flow of snow -melt water, which in turn precipitated a rare spring burst of  glorious poppies that warmed the hills with their sun glow and filled our hearts with the joy of living.

Late  spring we returned to Ohio. Although the real-estate market did not improved  and we did not sell our house, the summer brought the very best garden ever, and we enjoyed several family and friend  gatherings  made the more poignant by realizing we might soon give up the freedom of having "our farm" in the country with its outdoor fireplace where so many marshmallows have been roasted by the little ones.  Several fawns and our three baby chicks grew up through the summer and provided daily entertainment.

Fall brought the north eastern spectacle of leaves turning colors so numerous as to bedazzle the brain, and an abundance of garden produce to share with neighbors, friends, relatives, and delighted strangers. When the birds began migrating, we, too, made our yearly pilgrimage south to Tucson.

During the late fall into winter our friend of the wheelchair suffered more reverses and although each time we visited he obviously was failing, he assured us that he was in no pain. Before Christmas he went to "Gods Hands". He died with more that three decades of sobriety; an exemplary member of AA. That and an untimely accident that totaled our car ended the year on a sad note. Thankfully no one was hurt and program friends rallyed in support, loaned a car "for as long as needed", and genuinely cared about our misfortune..

What is a successful year made of? Joy and sorrows, laughter and love, birth and death; all the range of human emotions, and friends and family to share them with. How blessed are we to fully partake  of of such a year? So Happy New Year to all our friends met and unmet. Now we busy ourselves about filling up another memorable one.