The Language of Letting Go: February 22nd

Solving Problems

I ask that You might help me work through all my problems, to Your Glory and Honor.
—Alcoholics Anonymous

Many of us lived in situations where it wasn't okay to identify, have, or talk about problems. Denial became a way of life - our way of dealing with problems

In recovery, many of us still fear problems. We may spend more time reacting to a problem than we do to solving it. We miss the point; we miss the lesson; we miss the gift.  Problems are a part of life. So are solutions.

A problem doesn't mean life is negative or horrible. Having a problem doesn't mean a person is deficient. All people have problems to work through.

In recovery, we learn to focus on solving our problems. First, we make certain the problem is our problem. If it isn't, our problem is establishing boundaries. Then we seek the best solution. This may mean setting a goal, asking for help, gathering more information, taking an action, or letting go.

Recovery does not mean immunity or exemption from problems; recovery means learning to face and solve problems, knowing they will appear regularly. We can trust our ability to solve problems, and know we're not doing it alone. Having problems does not mean our Higher Power is picking on us. Some problems are part of life; others are ours to solve, and we'll grow in necessary ways in the process.

Face and solve today's problems. Don't worry needlessly about tomorrow's problems, because when they appear, we'll have the resources necessary to solve them.

Facing and solving problems, working through problems with help from a Higher Power, means we're living and growing and reaping benefits.

God, help me face and solve my problems today. Help me do my part and let the rest go. I can learn to be a problem solver. 

From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©1990, Hazelden Foundation.

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As a compulsive overeater, I was always deathly afraid of pain.............deathly afraid of problems; of dying, of being poor, of the boogey man and of LIFE in general. I was taught fear and to put on a happy face for others, while hiding my pain and keeping it a big old secret.

I was taught to over-react to life. To take a problem and blow it out of proportion. To obsess over it and be SO fearful of it, that taking action to resolve it was unthinkable. I became the problem.  It consumed me.  My life was a series of problems that had no solutions. 

What a vicious cycle!

Problems are lessons; they are put into my life to teach me. Problems are to be faced and solved, not feared and avoided at all costs. I don't welcome tons of issues to come barreling into my life............of course not...............but when I DO face an issue, I'm no longer paralyzed BY it.

I try to figure out what lesson I'm being taught by the problem I face. What GOOD can come from the seemingly 'bad' situation I'm faced with?  I try not to label ANY event as 'good' or 'bad'............which enables me to look at ALL situations as learning experiences. 

For today, I do not have to live in fear. Instead, I live in faith, with the knowledge that God has my back. If I begin to fall off the ledge, He will either catch me or teach me to fly.