Preparing for Action ~ STEP 3

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

 Step three is about making a decision to turn our will and lives over to God - (and additionally noting that it is “as we understand God”). In order to work this step and get maximum results, it is very important to gain a thorough understanding of both the definitions and concepts contained in it. Of the 12 steps, this particular principle is probably the most misinterpreted and misunderstood because it is often understood to mean that: (I) our “will” and “lives” are actually being turned over and (II) the reference to “as we understood Him” means a determination of “who” God is.  The result of this misunderstanding has often caused unnecessary frustration/confusion, preventing some from going any further in the 9 action steps that follow. We are going to look at a breakdown of this principle and by the end you will have a clear understanding of this step. 

Anytime we are about to take action in an area of our lives of any importance, it isn’t something that we just “impulsively” jump into blindly, but rather, we prepare by determining: (1)What it is that’s needing to be done AND  (2)What actions have to be taken to meet that need (a plan) 

The first thing to know is that Step 3 is the last of the “making up your mind” steps. What do I mean by that? Well, it is not until Step 4 that “action” begins being taken as part of what is called “Step Work”, as opposed to what is done in Steps 1-3. In these first 3 principles, (unlike those that will follow), we are in a process of: (a) gathering information and (b) making up our mind regarding the plan we are going to follow. 

The information that has been gathered in the first two steps is as follows:

 

STEP 1:           A personal lack of power in particular area(s) and the identification of unmanageability / damage the area(s) of life mentioned

STEP 2:           A choice has been made to suspect that God is present and that God could (if                                           invited) provide wholeness.

So let us now look at the first important word in Step 3 and that is the word:

Photo by Vladislav Babienko 

 Decision :  To gather facts involving a problem and then conclude which  facts we are going to act   upon. 

 Now that we have established what “made” us come “to” the decision, (past tense)… we look at what it is we’ve made the decision to do: To “turn our will and our lives over to the care of God”. To many who’ve been raised in, or attended the protestant or non-denominational churches – this sounds like an invitation for salvation. It is important to understand that while this doesn’t conflict with that invitation…this is not what is being referred to here. To better understand this, let’s take a closer look at word meanings:

Will                       is our thinking and direction 

Lives                      Is our actions 

Our actions come out of our thoughts: So if we want new lives, we will need new minds. We cannot be “self-directed” AND have a different life. We cannot have new minds on our own – this must come from God. For me to TRULY choose to give God my struggle(s) with _________________ I must first give up power, and for me to do this, I must FIRST decide to turn over my will (thinking).

 Our WILL & Our LIVES:   Our “lives” are our ACTIONS. Our “will” is our THINKING; So deciding to turn over our will and our lives means that we are turning over our thinking and our actions. Turning over our lives means to give up the old lifestyle that has not been successful. If we can give up our direction, we can then receive new direction – what was once unmanageable can become manageable!

 EXAMPLE:           Bad thinking                       Bad Action                        Bad life (painful area of our                                                                                                                           life that we can’t move past)

                                Good thinking                   Good Action                       Good life (the life we                                                                                                                                    desire to have)

 An important reminder: We are NOT actually turning over our “will” and “lives” at this point! If we could, wouldn’t we have done it a long time ago? Aside from simply the struggle of being “human” – there are a myriad of reasons that we struggle with turning over these two things to God. (Past hurts, mistrust, uncertainty, etc…) What we are doing in this principle is simply making a DECISION to turn our thinking and actions over, allowing GOD to then replace them with better thinking and actions.

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Before we finish with the last part of this principle, I want to bring attention to the word “care” – as in: We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God…

 Care       To be concerned or interested; To provide needed assistance or watchful supervision

When we are turning over our thinking, direction and actions over to “the care of God”, we are giving it:  (1) to our God, who is certainly concerned and interested in our well-being AND (2) to an infinite God – the ONLY one who can truly provide the needed assistance and supervision that we need.

Now we approach the final part of this principle - God as we understood Him (or of our understanding)

 As perhaps a person of faith, it can be easy to disregard this portion of the principle, because of thinking – “After all, if I already believe in God...I KNOW who He is!” But the truth is that this is not the only interpretation. It is important to know that although we may be in communion with Him…it does not necessarily mean that our understanding OF Him is where it needs to be in order to involve God in EVERY aspect of our life.

We do not believe or understand exactly like another person about ANYTHING. So our understanding of the personality of God can vary greatly and in most cases we need it to grow. Every single thing a person does, they do it through their individual conception, and our actions are greatly influenced by our conceptions.

 Conception        A notion; idea; concept

 EXAMPLE:    If my conception of God, (God as I understand Him), is that of a punishing and                                        vengeful God - I am likely not going to go to Him about areas of sin in my life; If my                              conception is that he is a busy God, I am likely not going to want to bother him with                                things I feel I can do myself; If my conception is that he is status update God…I will                              likely only go to him with my progress reports.

 Although most would widely accept that God (the Creator of all things seen and unseen) knows us, we tend to not know Him on a personal level nearly as much!

 EXAMPLE:  Have you ever had a best friend? Did they BEGIN as a best friend or did they begin as an acquaintance? How did they go from being an acquaintance to a best friend? Did it happen fast or take time? What had to happen between the two of you during that time to reach best friend status?

God ‘as we understand Him’, is referring to ‘as we understand Him now’ (today) – and being able to be REALLY honest with ourselves re: where we are at with that at this point. Our journey in the steps to come, is the same process that was needed for our acquaintance to become our best friend - and the process continues for the rest of our days. This is the MOST personal relationship you will ever experience in your entire life and I am THRILLED to tell you that these 12 principles allow you to begin developing it on a daily basis for the rest of your life!

 What to do:  (This is something you can work on in your own time and if you would like a prayer – see #3)           

1. Look honestly at both your current conception of God’s personality & what you want to have  

2. Are you ready to make a decision to rely upon God as your pursue the actions steps to come?

3. Prayer: Father – I desire to know you more intimately and it is my will that you would guide and direct me in the steps to come – so that I might better have you in charge of my thinking and actions – Thank you – amen

©2015-2023 Rebecca Balko 

SILENT SOLDIER

 

In honor of Jason D. Johns  PFC, Army 82nd Airborne and all of our fallen men and women in uniform...

 

No one could know, In the silence of your heart and mind

The moment when such a selfless decision was first born            

A decision to commit...A decision to train... A decision to serve

...the many millions who would never know your name

 

No one could know, In the silence of your heart and mind

The feelings that flooded you, as you said goodbye to those you loved   

 A decision to commit…A decision to train...A decision to serve   

...the many millions who would never know your name          

 

No one could know, In the silence of your heart and mind

What you must have felt, as you first landed and stepped upon that foreign soil             

A decision to commit...A decision to train...A decision to serve

...the many millions who would never know your name

 

No one could know, In the silence of your heart and mind

What you went through on the battlefield, as you watched a brother fall

A decision to commit...A decision to train...A decision to serve

...the many millions who would never know your name

 

No one could know, In the silence of your heart and mind

When a fatal shot you received, and tender private thoughts flowed through you

A decision to commit...A decision to train...A decision to serve

...the many millions who would never know your name

 

Because of you... 

Young dreamers continue to have their dreams

            Lovers plan their futures and embrace new lives together

                        The laughter of our children fills the air on this Memorial Day

 

Silent Soldier….   

                    ...We remember you                        

                                         ...We honor you                                    

                                                            ...We Thank You
 

 

 

©2014-2023 Rebecca Balko

My Name is Blue

 

Photo by Ivan Ragozin

My name is Blue and I’m an addict and alcoholic. Everyone calls me Blue mainly because my hair is blue ~ LOL. I was born and raised in a small island called Treasure Island Florida. My parents were well off and I grew up in a good household. We lived on the water ~ had a pool, a hot tub and a boat. We were always out on the boat every weekend fishing, diving or just partying on some of the islands out in the Gulf. I thought this was normal. This is how everyone was raised. My parents had parties at their house almost every weekend. Alcohol was everywhere. I remember learning how to mix drinks when I was 7 years old. I was very involved in swimming. I joined my first swim team at age 4. I practiced all the time and eventually I qualified for the Junior Olympics. One of my favorite things to do was when we went out on the boat and my parents went diving, I would wait on the front of the boat for my dad's bubbles to come up the anchor line. When I saw him I would fly off the boat and swim about 15 feet down to meet him and breath off his respiratory. I was about 5 when I started this. I also was very much into art and at 10 I started to teach myself how to play the guitar.

When I was 6 my parents allowed my great uncle to babysit me and my younger brother. My uncle raped and molested me for 3 years. At age 7 I had my first drink. It was exactly what I was looking for. Something to numb the emotional pain I was feeling. By the time I was 11 I had to have surgery on my leg because of a cyst that formed and became very painful. I was put on pain meds and absolutely fell in love. Those pills did for me what I could not do for myself.

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya

There is a park by my parents’ house that I hung out at all the time. I would draw or practice my guitar. I wound up meeting these kids who were a lot older than me. They were 18 to 21. They introduced me to pot and cocaine. I became able to socialize in ways I never could imagine. I could talk to people and laugh and have fun. I thought I was important. One of those guys, who was 21, took advantage of me by raping and beating me so badly that I spent months in the hospital with broken bones and internal bleeding. He even fractured my back. I was an emotional wreak. Not long after I turned 12 one of those older boys got me hooked on heroin. He shot me up and then showed me how to do it. I thought I had found the love of my life. It numbed everything I wanted to be numb. I no longer had to feel those feelings anymore. I no longer had to be alone with myself and my own thoughts. I found my best friend. I found my way over the next couple of years to many other drugs and occasionally alcohol.

At 15 I went from private school to public school. Although I was in a magnet program for visual arts. 100 people tried out and I was 1 of 6 that got accepted. I also started my first band. I played lead guitar and lead vocals. Through one of my shows I met Billy. I knew at this point in my life that I was gay but I also knew that my family wouldn't have been ok with that. So I forced myself to be with men. Billy I thought was the one guy who was going to change everything. And boy was I right just not in the way I thought.  Billy was extremely abusive. He

Photo by Louis Galvez

fed me drugs constantly which I did love. I was always high but even the drugs didn't make what he did to me bearable. He beat me and raped me every day for a year and a half. He allowed his friends to beat and rape me. He locked me in a dog cage. Normally naked. He would electrify the cage so if I touched it I would get shocked. Sometimes he would just put the wires right on me and leave it on long enough to burn my skin. He made me eat and drink out of dog bowls. I was not allowed to look anyone in the eyes. If I did I got punished badly. I had to kneel next to his chair in the living room like a pet and I always had to walk a step behind him. Sometimes he would keep me locked in the cage for weeks at a time. He would let me out and my legs would so bad I wouldn't be able to walk. He starved me and when I got away from him I weighed 87 pounds. He got arrested on a drug charge and my friends got me out of the house and hid me.

I bounced from friend’s house to friend’s house. Sometimes I slept on the streets. For a couple of months I got involved with another guy who was very controlling and abusive. But he wasn't anything like Billy, so I thought I was doing well. Only he forced me into prostitution. I did that for a couple of months until I got hooked up with a major drug dealer who lived 2 hours south of me. I started selling drugs in the clubs for him. I was selling about 1,500 x pills every weekend. Yet my addiction was so bad I had no profit. I owed him. I just kept running. One night, when I was 18, my very good friend Mitch and I, were walking to the store to get something to drink. It was a couple of blocks away from his apartment. On the way back, this

Photo by Kenny Eliason

car kept driving past us and turning around. The next thing I know I heard the gun shot and Mitch fell to the ground. He got hit in the head and died in my arms within minutes. I saw who shot him. It was the same man who raped and beat me when I was 11. I went to court and testified. He stood up when the verdict was read, ‘guilty’. He said, “I didn't mean to shoot him, I meant to shoot her” And he pointed right at me.

I couldn't take much more of this and I was afraid that Billy was getting closer to finding me. So I wrote a letter to my parents and I went home to give it to them. I had to apologize for everything I had done to them. I had stolen all of my mom's jewelry and pawned it. But they did get it back. I stole check books and credit cards. I stole cash and part of my dad’s coin collection. Anything I could pick up and get money for I took. Because the drugs didn't give me a choice. Two days later me, my parents and my uncle were on a plane to south Florida for me to go to rehab. I went to 2 rehabs and a couple of halfway houses. I stayed sober for about 2 years. I even sponsored a girl. But yet again I wound up with a guy who was controlling and abusive and who fed me drugs. I wound up moving back to home with him. I formed another band - lost the guy - still doing my art work. Trying to hold down a job. But the drugs don't really like my work schedule so it normally doesn't work out. I eventually get married. He too is abusive. More mentally. I got pregnant by him 7 times. I had 5 miscarriages and 2 stillborn. One at 6 months due to complications with the baby. And one at 7 months due my husband kicking me in the stomach. Later I get pregnant again by another man who I had known since I was 15. He was very controlling and very narcissistic. I stopped doing drugs. I wanted this baby so bad. I wanted the others too. But I knew I couldn't handle losing another one. The pregnancy was very hard. I was very high risk and on strict bed rest. I was not allowed to go into labor. If I did, with my complication, I would bled out and died before the baby was born. I had many episodes where I bled so bad I had to have a blood transfusion. (And on top of that, I have a rare blood type.) Eventually the doctor just had me stay in the hospital for the last month and a half of my pregnancy.

Photo by Christian Bowen

I had a C-section. My son was born with 4 holes in his heart. One was huge. He had open heart surgery at 7 months old. He is perfect. He had a patch on the big hole that will grow with his heart. He will see a cardiologist for the rest of his life. But he has no restrictions. And he is 10 years old now. His name is Jax. He is named after one of my friends - Jack, who helped me get away from Billy. Jack unfortunately passed away from an overdose before Jax was born. I started drinking. However, I did drink while I was pregnant for 2 days straight. But now I’m drinking every day nonstop. One day i decided to quit. I knew all about withdrawals from drugs. I kicked heroin and Benzos. But I had no idea you could withdraw from alcohol. My third day sober I had a grand mal seizure in the middle of Toys-R-Us. I spent about 5 days in the hospital. I was hallucinating. I was asking the nurse what the people on the walls were saying. Yet in the cab on my way home I stopped at the liquor store. Because that's my addiction. It knows no bounds.

 I got engaged to another guy I knew since I was 15. He was crazy obsessed with me. I got a job at Toys-R-Us so we could get an apartment together. He became homeless when his aunt decided to sell her house. He didn't like that I was working so much. But this was towards the end of November at a toy store. It was very busy. And I was hired as seasonal. I wanted them to make me preeminent. So I did what they asked, I came in early, stayed later and came in on my days off. He just got jealous and started showing up at my work or my parents’ house. 

Photo by Felipe Furtado

One day he showed up at work and waited for me to get there. My parents dropped me off in the parking lot. I didn't see him at first. My parents left and he wound up cornering me up against his car. One of my managers was outside and saw this. He hit me knocking me to the ground. He took my left hand and slammed it in the car door repeatedly fracturing all of my fingers in multiple places. Sad to say I am no longer able to play the guitar. And I played for 23 years. Almost every relationship I was in was abusive in some way. I wanted attention and negative attention is what I got. I would force myself to be with men. So I would get really drunk and high and meet random men I met on an online dating site. Sometimes I would bring them to my parents’ house. But most if the time it was hotels.

Photo by Joel Muniz

I was in 29 rehabs from the age of 19 to 41. I wouldn't talk about my trauma. They ask, what I’m going to do different this time. Because if nothing changes then nothing changes. This time I talk openly about my trauma. The more I talk about it the less power it has over me. I get uncomfortable to get comfortable. I don't like raising my hand and talking in meetings but I forces myself to. I raised my hand, said my name and said that I need help getting to meetings. I got lots of phone numbers. And I call and text those people. Even if it's just to say, “Hi”. I have a big group of women in my life who would do anything to help me. I had a living situation problem and these women came together and got everything fixed for me. It's amazing. I have a sponsor. I do exactly what she suggests. I did everything my addiction told me to do so I can do everything my recovery tells me to do. I have a relationship with my higher power. I pray to him every day. I don't pray for things like money. I pray for his guidance and his will. And when I’m feeling stressed I pray to him and I have this peace that comes over me. It's amazing. I do service work. I have a home group and

Photo by Brett Jordan

I volunteer to do things like making the coffee or hand out the raffle tickets.  I help women who are getting out of rehab find a sober living house to go to. I also help people who are struggling get into detox. If a hand is reaching out to me I’m going to grab it and pull that person up. It's so important to get a sponsor, get a home group, do service work and raise your hand in meetings, introduce yourself. Get those phone numbers and use them. There are some incredible women and men out there in the rooms. And you calling them is helping them too. It helps me when I help another addict.

Photo by Adrian Moise

Today I have a close relationship with my son. He lives with his father 2 hours north of my parents. My parents get him every other weekend. I have a job I never thought I could get. But I applied and got hired. I took a class for a state insurance license and I passed. It was very hard. If I was in my addiction I would not have passed that. I work from home, so when I save up enough money I’m going to move back to St. Petersburg and I can take my job with me. I can't wait to be closer to my son so I can start seeing him in person again. I work hard on my recovery today because I want to live a clean and sober life. And those promises that the Big Book talks about will come true for all of you if you just stick with it and do what is suggested. They are coming true for me every day.
I have a relationship with my parents. I didn't before this. My mom didn't talk to me for 2 years. The most I heard her say in the backyard when I called my dad was that: ‘I was a bitch’; ‘I was no better than the trash in her garbage can’; and that ‘I ruined her life’. Now she tells me that she loves me unconditionally. And she has never in my life told me she loved me. I needed to borrow money and she actually lent it to me with no problems. I asked and she said yes. Before she wouldn't even give me $5. Things will get better for all of you. Just remember that you're fighting for your life and your will to live. I hope my story can help at least one person. Thank you all for allowing me to tell my story.