January 1: Let Time Take Its Time

• (Inspired by the January 1st reading from Courage to Change in Alanon.)

Expectations for instant results are everywhere we look.  The automatic teller machine is just the tip of our culture's iceberg. 

I tend to rely on money, not only to change my life, but in pleasing others. When I was told to hold back on contributing to the kitty the first meeting I attended,  I made up for it in tears of gratitude.   Tears were an instant balm for my emotional problems in that first (free) visit to a 12-Step fellowship.

While the program can provide relief at little cost financially, lasting change takes place over a period of days, weeks, and months. It takes time to regain, reclaim, and recoup all that was lost while we tried on our own to cope with our emotional difficulties.  None of us got sick overnight: recovery is a process. 

Even pills are not a immediate, ready-made solution. Creating lasting trust takes time, change takes time, healing old wounds takes time. The tools and principles of our program—Steps, Traditions, slogans, meetings, sponsorship, service—can lead us to the answers that are right for us.

Relapse or hitting a bump may need to be part of our recovery process.   There are always triggers, and the chance for a slip, to awaken us. I remember the game of Shoots and Ladders where any player can be nearing the final line, only to find that they've advanced to a square that sends them back to the beginning. Humility has its purpose. 

Recovery is there to remind us that we all have dark times in our lives, but the journey to better times is often what makes us happier, stronger people. We might find that coming back for new lessons is exactly where our Higher Power would have us be.  When we stop expecting instant relief or permanent solutions, we may come to realize that we are creating a safety net that sustains us. 

 Let me take time out today to recognize that no matter what is going on around me today, I am making progress.  When I take it “One Day at a Time” I am being moved forward slowly but surely.   I will trust the process of recovery. I’ll let time take time.

“If I am under pressure and setting myself deadlines, I will stop for a few minutes and think of just this one day and what I can do with it.” One Day at a Time in Al-Anon