Little League Soccer and Early Recovery/Change – Step 1 – Part 4 of 4

“When the going gets tough the tough get going!” Really?

Ethan is a new boy on the soccer field this year, not new to soccer but new to a competitive, go fight win attitude I didn’t see in him last spring. As his mom sat on the sidelines Saturday she was a little shocked to suddenly hear Ethan yell out to the guys on the other team, “You’re gonna wish you stayed home!”

Not more that a few minutes into play Ethan got knocked to the ground and received quite a kick. Tears ran down his cheek as he ran off the field to the sidelines for some TLC from mom. At that point I think Ethan probably wished he’d stayed home. After some parental reassurance he was back out on the field, not quite so bullish as before but willing to play.

Likewise there are days in early 12-step work (whether we’re working to overcome addiction or applying the 12-step process to overcoming any kind of difficulty) when we feel brim with a new kind confidence. Recovering addicts often call it the honeymoon or the pink cloud period. Surrounded by a fellowship of support, we discover or rediscover a God who lives and who is willing to be involved in solving our individual problems. We begin to experience times when we feel His Spirit. We start to see His hand in our everyday lives. And sometimes we start to feel a bit invincible.

Then life happens. We get roughed up a bit. We get kicked. We fall down, and our God centered bravado melts into tears or anger. It’s OK to run to the sidelines for some reassurance from a healthy support team. Sometimes in recovery when the going get tough the tough (those who have had to be or have pretended to be tough) have a good cry. Then they get back on the field with a little more humility and that can only improve the game!

By Nannette W.
Posted Sunday, September 14, 2008

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