Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up.
01887 – Finish and Be Done!
Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.
01855 – Life “About to Begin”?
For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last...
01820 – Hope & Love are Everywhere in Our Lives
The signs are all around us. We can see them springing up like wildflowers after the prairie rain. People who had fallen asleep are waking up. People who had been content to watch are wanting to join. People who never said a word are speaking out. The tipping point of...
01583 – Understanding Begins with Us
We want to punish the other person because we suffer. Then, we have anger in us; we have violence in us, just as they do. When we see that our suffering and anger are no different from their suffering and anger, we will behave more compassionately. So understanding...
01512 – Every Day is a New Day
Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety. Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and...
01424 – Jesus Always Went where the Pain Was
There is no side to take in the Twelve Step Program! It is not a worthiness contest. There is only an absolutely necessary starting point! The experience of "powerlessness" is where we all must begin. And Alcoholics Anonymous (A. A.) is honest and humble enough to...
01378 – The Second Step to Holy Obedience
Once having the vision [of a God-intoxicated life], the second step to holy obedience is this: Begin where you are. Obey now. Use what little obedience you are capable of, even if it be like a grain of mustard seed. Live this present moment...as you now sit in your...
00398 – Salvation: Not Only from the Cross
Salvation can never come from crosses only. Salvation can only come from a cross whose incumbent hanging there has some kind of a future. Salvation has to come from somebody whom a cross cannot hold. It has to come from someone of whom a cross cannot dispose....
00309 – The Work of Christmas
When the song of the angels is stilled,When the star in the sky is gone,When the kings and princes are home,When the shepherds are back with their flock, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner,...