<\/p>\n
Many of us give up not when things are horrible, but when we have yet another spiritual hurdle to overcome. We lose our way just short of the miracle \u2013 sometimes over and over again.<\/strong><\/p>\n Living Clean, Chapter 1, \u201cGrowing Pains\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Most of us have heard the phrase: \u201cDon't leave before the miracle happens\u201d? For newcomers, this may mean staying in a gathering even when the urge to leave seems to be more than we can bear. After some time of clarity, this may mean taking another call from the supportee who is not listening to anything we say, or choosing not to react when our boss or partner pushes the last button \u2013 again (and again and again again).<\/p>\n But how do we get there? How does the newcomer stay in his place when everything inside him is shouting: Get up! Go away! How does the advocate dig deep and offer experience, strength, and hope to the troubled mentee, instead of simply sighing deeply and asking, \u201cHave you prayed about this?\u201d How do we shift our attention from the momentary frustration of an argument to the fulfillment we experience in our relationship or career?<\/p>\n It's easy to do the right thing when things are going well, when we get what we want or think we deserve. Sometimes, though, the "rewards" may seem small or feel like they've been a long time coming.<\/p>\n Some members have described recovery as a \u201cmarathon, not a sprint\u201d! Marathon runners call it \u201chitting the wall\u201d \u2013 that point in the race where it feels like it's impossible to keep going and there's no end in sight. It's the same in recovery: We live by these principles for months, years, even decades, but some of our hopes and dreams still seem so out of reach. We can't even see the finish line yet, and we are TIRED. We must remember that there is no "finish line" in a program just for today. We're not here for the payoff at the end.<\/p>\n We keep the pace. Even if it's slow and steady, we keep moving forward, whether we feel it or not. We may need to stop at a fuel station \u2013 for runners a glass of cold water or a sports drink every two kilometers makes it possible to keep going. In recovery, having coffee or tea with another addict can help us get through the next spiritual struggle \u2013 until the miracle on the other side.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When I feel like giving up, I'll take a moment to remember that recovery is a journey, not a destination. I will be vigilant and keep moving forward.<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-11604","spad","type-spad","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.na-greece.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/spad\/11604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.na-greece.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/spad"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.na-greece.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/spad"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.na-greece.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}