Cup of Joe 7/5/16

Happy 4th of July everyone! It never ceases to amaze me how quickly time flies by in the realm of the spirit. We are half way through the year already!To trail off of last weeks cup of Joe…Just as the man must till the soil and carry the water, he must continue this way of life for a lifetime. If he does not he will starve and dehydrate, we must always remember where we came from and what it was like.In recovery we tend to lose sight of the days we had no crops and no water. We begin taking water from our fellow man; we take his personal inventory instead of our own. One day we wake up and realize our bucket has become empty once again. The roots of selfishness and self-centeredness swell and spiritually dehydrate us. Here we lie alone with only our selfish wants, needs, and desires. The ego rebuilds itself and self reliance has failed us one more time. A man coming back from the river approaches with a full bucket and gives all that he has. This man knows that work and self-sacrifice for his fellow man is what keeps his spirit hydrated.Only then may we realize God is doing for us, what we could not do for ourselves. It is better to meet with God as a thirsty and broken man. Than to meet God with an empty bucket and a false sense of self, to do this would be faithlessness!On the other hand, this very same man that was once doomed. Follows his fellow along the Twelve Step path to God. He returns to the river with a full bucket of water for the next man with an empty bucket. In my opinion, the greatest delusion in this fellowship is that somehow our sobriety is for ourselves. The realization I have come to understand is that my sobriety was never meant for me. It has always been and always will be for the brother and sister that still suffers.Thought for the week: I will continue to apply this spiritual way of life throughout the day in all my affairs, so that God can use me to help my brothers and sisters find their way to quench their thirst.