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    For the past several days I keep thinking “Stop”!  The first thing on my mind when I’m praying, and it’s a lot these days, I am praying for the fires to stop! Please Lord, put out these fires, make it stop. Send some rain, asap please.  I’ve already been praying for the virus to stop! Please Lord, make it stop, please send us a credible vaccine and possible cure. Just make it stop.  Too many lives lost and disrupted already. 

     Then there’s the violence, riots and meanness all over our country, please Lord, make it stop!  Then there’s the crazy political world which is off the hook crazy. Please Lord, make it stop!

      Stop the fires Lord, bring rain. Stop the Virus Lord, bring a vaccine. Stop the violence, bring peace. Stop the political turmoil and bring civility to our country. Amen.

     So, with all this Stopping on my mind, it reminded me of when some inner voice kept prodding me to stop.  “Debbie, stop, just stop it!  Stop running around like a lunatic, stop leaving your kids, stop stealing, stop lying, cheating and threatening people! Stop using drugs! (alcohol is a drug).  Just stop!

   There were many more “stops” to come after I put down the dope.  There were cigarettes, cussing like a sailor, a whole host of character defects and negative thinking.  A defeatists attitude and hopelessness.  Fear seemed to control my thinking and movements.   Just as I fear for all the people in the line of the fires, the people who have Covid and family members who have lost loved ones and so much. Fear for the state of our country with violence and political unrest. 

     I heard a great song the other day, it’s called “The Breakup Song” by Francesca Battistell”. In the song, she is breaking up with Fear. Please look it up, you won’t be sorry. It’s an inspiring, uplifting song about letting go of fear and moving on. Sounds good to me. 😊

     There are many things I do not have control over and cannot stop. like the fires, virus and violence- but I can control me.  I can control my using, fears, problems by giving them to God. I can control my weight by diet and exercise, I can control my attitude by giving it to God and working my steps and practice the awesome power of keeping my mouth shut! Lol. I can control my environment, clean up my house and property, I can control who I hang out with. I can control what I feed my brain, heart and soul by being selective with movies, music, tv, books and articles.  I do not have to let fear run my life. I can replace my fear with faith.  In the program we say “FEAR is Forget Everything And Run when we are using. In recovery it becomes Face Everything And Recover”.  I can Stop fear dead in it’s tracks by doing this.

      Sometimes, a new situation may creep in and cause feelings of fear, but I can quickly “Stop” and pray, take action and replace that fear with faith.  Bottom line, don’t use no matter what!  Just Stop, think, pray, call someone who cares about me and my recovery. Give it all to God.

Question of the Week:   You think it’s time to stop, Is there something you’ve been putting off stopping?