Step Eleven reads: “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.”
Many old-timers will say this step is vital for achieving long-term sobriety and having real peace of mind. What begins as a tiny mustard seed of faith when we first admit our powerlessness and unmanageability in Step One of our recovery eventually grows into an everlasting and meaningful relationship with God. He pours into us His divine wisdom, long-lasting care, and orderly direction.
Through our recovery, we are invited to surrender the reigns of our own wills as He gently guides us from chaos and illusory control toward tranquility and contentment: the true gift of sober living. The more time we dedicate to seeking Him the more He can tend to our hearts and prepare them for new growth, awareness, and self-knowledge. And the more He can help us see how we are being called to serve Him, our neighbors, and others in recovery.
In our daily walk of conversion, we ultimately long for true healing of our hearts. And we know this process can be painful since we have usually seen others move through the Steps before us. We realize we must get down to the root cause of why we drank, used drugs, or clung to some other unhealthy attachment. We can only do this, though, by asking God to reveal to us our flaws so He can remove them.
After being sober for some time and working through the Steps, we become increasingly more aware that we must dedicate quality time with our higher power whom we call God, Abba, and Father in order to continue on our journey. We do this through daily prayer, meditation, and the sacraments of our Catholic faith.
Whether we’re new to recovery or have been in it for decades, we must remember to always seek God in all that we do. This can start with a simple prayer upon waking up to help us throughout the day or thanking Him before bed for another day of sobriety. The more we do this, the more God begins to unravel the knots of our character.
We begin to think, act, and feel differently. We begin to see that God is doing for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves. And this causes us to grow even more in our prayer life, enabling us to live in better harmony with Him, ourselves, and the entire world. We are reborn!
As Catholics, we are so very blessed to have many ways of entering more deeply into His life, death, and resurrection through our journey of recovery. We can do this through active participation at the Mass, reading Scripture, adoring the Blessed Sacrament, receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, reciting the Holy Rosary and/or Divine Mercy chaplet, and more.
God offers us so many ways to deepen our heavenly vision with the protection of His angels and glorious saints to whom we pray for intercession. And if we only allow Him to enter our lives more fully He will no doubt do amazing things to us. And in turn, we will no doubt do amazing things for others through Him, with Him, and in Him.
As Step Eleven reminds us, never stop seeking! Seek Him well, seek Him often, and trust in His most holy will!
Kathleen Ann, by God’s grace, has been clean and sober since June 1, 2006. She is an active member of AA, CIR, and works part-time as the Project Rachel Coordinator in the Life office at the Diocese of Rockford, where she helps gently and confidentially guide those wounded by abortion to hope and healing in Christ Jesus. On most days you can find her at daily Mass, the gym, or caring for the needs of her family, young and old alike.