A woman's path to sustained recovery

Though the process of recovery is never easy, some women seem to move through the journey with less pain than others. Why? What makes the difference? Here we will talk about how that happens for each of us. We will talk about how women heal in mutually empowering realtionships with themselves, with others and with God.

Friday, August 31, 2012

Issac

Much is being said about Hurricane Issac landing on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. It is also the aniversary of "Tropical Storm Irene" landing in Vermont. We were trapped on our mountain for 3 weeks. Thousands of people lost everything. The landscape was devastated.

And yet this morning, as Issac approaches our new home in St. Louis, I walked in the park by the Arch at sunrise. The clouds were just above the horizon and that small sliver of sky was a brilliant pink. It even reflected onto the silver Arch. Color and beauty and majesty were overwhelming for just a few minutes.

Nature shows us the "power and the glory..."--in the good times and the bad. I can make no sense of it but I pray to be aware-acutely aware.

What might you be more aware of today?

Blessings-Penny

Saturday, August 25, 2012

noise

There is highway repair outside our apartment. The work requires installation of large metal coverings over the roadbed when traffic is allowed through the work area. Those metal coverings are secured rather loosely and when trucks cross those coverings, it sounds like thunder...over and over and over.About 4 a.m. that noise awakens me and I have great difficulty getting back to sleep. I become frustrated, annoyed and agitated which makes sleep impossible.

My husband, who sleeps through the whole thing, suggests I think of the noise simply as background noise...something that is there but not really very important. It's like the worries that annoy and agitate us at night---thoughts and worries that are there but that we really can't do anything about---certainly not at 4 a.m.

How do we do that? How do we put the thoughts and worries at 4 a.m. as "background noise?"
We do it by placing those worries in God's hands. We say a quiet prayer that we sense His presence and His desire to hold those worries, that noise, so we can rest and our minds be quiet. He takes away the thunder and we receive His peace. 

What worries, what noise in your life needs to be placed in the background? Today can you place those worries in God's hands knowing He is with you?
Blessings-Penny

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Life

We watched a movie the other night about a father and son who were writers. The movie is named "Flynn", I think. It's pretty good -not great. But it had a line I liked. The father (Robert DeNiro) said to the son, who was working in a homeless shelter, "I know what you are doing here. You're gathering experiences. All life is gathering experiences."

Isn't that true? If we are aware of each those experiences; if we think about them, consider them as part of a larger picture, isn't that really what life is? But how often do we do that? Do we really stop each day and consider the moments, the conversations, as the real essence of our lives?

Do we stop and thank God for the gift of those experiences? Do we ask God to help us make the most of those experiences, to help us shape our lives in His grace?

Blessings-Penny

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Rest

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterward." Spanish proverb.
This proverb was in our newspaper's comic strip and I smiled. In our very busy society we rarely give ourselves permission to "do nothing and rest afterwards." It is a concept difficult to even imagine. For most of us being busy equates with being important. Even retirees take delight in saying things like, "I'm so busy I don't know how I had time to work."

My prayer for you today is that you "do nothing and then rest afterward." In that rest thank God for the peace that He gives. The rest is His gift.

Blessings-Penny

Monday, August 13, 2012

What worked?

There was a newspaper column the other day which talked about creating successful experiences in our lives. It had a number of suggestions such as clearly defining the goal, framing the goal in words that were measureable (such as in 2 weeks I will complete my resume). One of the suggestions said something, "Think about a time in your life that you had a goal and were successful. What were you doing at that time that made a difference? What was going on that made that work?"

I thought about recovery and I thought about relapse. What is it like when I was successful? What specifically am I doing then? What messages are in in my head?

Then yesterday there was a sermon at church that gave me one answer. The message of the sermon was that for all time God has been there. He has promised from the Old Testament through the birth, life, death and resurrection of Christ that He is with us. He has always been there and He wil always be with us.

Do we remember that as we set goals and plans and pray for recovery that leads us to peace? Do we remember the one thing we can always count on---that God has promised He is always with us? Do we trust that? What difference does that make? Does that promise make it work?

Blessings-Penny

Thursday, August 9, 2012

cohesive

We saw a remarkable movie the other day...Beasts of the Southern Wild. Great acting, fabulous cinematography, unique story. In one of the scenes a boat captain (sort of) tells a little girl he wants to be "cohesive." She repeats, "I want to be cohesive." The little girl lives in unimaginable poverty and a chaotic home and community. She wants to be "cohesive" probably without knowing what that means.

Wouldn't we all like to be cohesive---sort of "have it all together?" I know I've spent way too much time and energy trying to look like I'm cohesive while living with a great deal of anxiety and feeling like I need to control. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be cohesive? To feel it all fits together?

What do I need to do to be cohesive? What do I need to let go of?
How do I place this in God's loving hands?

How do you?
Blessings-Penny

Thursday, August 2, 2012

the next question

Today another example of an opportunity for connection by asking "the next question." We were at a doctor's office and the technician , John, was checking my husband's vision before we saw the doctor. The usual pleasantries had transpired and as the brief session was ending, my husband asked "the next question." It was something like, "So how are you doing...or... how is your life going?" And for the next few minutes, John shared his joy in learning how to play the guitar. He told us about his 3 hour practices, his focus, his hopes, his dreams. John became more than the technician. It felt like we "knew" him at a diffferent level. He wouldn't become our lifelong friend, probably, but we shared a few important moments.

As we left the examining room, my husband said, "It's just about asking the next question."

When we go to appointments we are usually focused on our own needs, our own concerns, our own questions. Can we take the time to ask people "the next question?" If not at appointments how about asking the next question to people we work with, and our own families? Do we want to connect at a deeper level? Do we take responsibility for doing that---asking that next question? It is a way to show we care.
Blessings-Penny