Filling in the Blanks

Happy New Year! 2007 was a watershed year for me. For all it’s hurdles and the effort that it required, 2007 was an amazing year. When we rang it in I was still a few days from becoming sober. Everything I had tried had only earned me a seat on the curb at the corner of 6th and Pueblo streets in the middle of the night, in the snow, broke and friendless and homeless and not understanding how someone like me, someone smart and talented and able in so many things could have ended up there. Having my heart break was the best thing that had happened to me up to that time. When that happened God gave me the vision of His will for me to have a better life and the willingness to do what was required to have it. Getting sober was my only real goal. It was solidly on the horizon. I had moved from the point of contemplation to taking action to carry the vision of God’s will into my life. It has taken an astonishing amount of effort and commitment, an almost blind faith that it was possible and a willingness that I didn’t know I had. Yet here I am, a more sane, more productive and useful, more contented person than I believe I have ever been. It is clear to me that under my own effort such a feat could hardly have been possible. My power had failed me utterly.
It’s time evaluate where I am now and to seek an understanding of what God’s vision for me is in the coming year. I talked in another post about setting goals. Through prayer and meditation, writing and talking with my sponsor, I am gaining some clarity about what God’s vision is for me is this year. I’ve only started to review, rewrite and reorder the list but I love keeping that list on 43things.com . I love to share the path with people who have different world views than I encounter here in Boise. I love being able to be reminded of and write specifically about what I experience in the pursuit of bringing God’s vision into the world. So here is what I’m doing right here at the beginning of the year.

1. Asking God to mold my ideals and help me to live up to them. (69: 2)
2. Asking God what I should do about each specific matter. (69: 3)
3. Earnestly praying for the right ideal, for guidance, for sanity, and for the strength to do the right thing. (70:2)

I’m sure I’ll be talking about it more and posting more on 43things, but I wanted to just take this moment to acknowledge the past year and it’s blessing and share my hope for the new one.

Happy New Year.

Photo credit: _ _ X _ _ O Originally uploaded by Noel Kerns