January 2

Take a deep breath and talk to God

"Sometimes when we pray, a remarkable thing happens:  We find the means, ways, and energies to perform tasks far beyond our capacities."

Basic Text, p. 46

Coping successfully with life's minor annoyances and frustrations is sometimes the most difficult skill we have to learn in recovery.  We are faced with small inconveniences daily.  From untangling the knots in our children's shoelaces to standing in line at the market, our days are filled with minor difficulties that we must somehow deal with.

If we're not careful, we may find ourselves dealing with these difficulties by bullying our way through each problem or grinding our teeth while giving ourselves a stern lecture about how we should handle them.  These are extreme examples of poor coping skills, but even if we're not this bad, there's probably room for improvement.

Each time life presents us with another little setback to our daily plans, we can simply take a deep breath and talk to the God of our understanding.  Knowing we can draw patience, tolerance, or whatever we need from that Power, we find ourselves coping better and smiling more often.

Just for today:  I will take a deep breath and talk to my God whenever I feel frustrated.