Christmas Anonymous 12 Step Recovery Program *
- We admitted we were powerless over Christmas—that our lives had become unmanageable.
- Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. To that end we reread the Nativity story in Matthew, Luke, and John.
- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God. (Romans 6:17, 18; Ephesians 2:13)
- Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves; then did the same for the pile of newly accumulated gifts, culling and assimilating as required.
- Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. We then worked out on the treadmill and had a low fat, low sugar, low sodium, high fiber, but delicious none the less meal.
- Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
- Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
- Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
- Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. Replacing the offending gift given to Aunt Hattie and setting up a fundraiser through our favorite charity tops the list.
- Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
- Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
- Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to Christmasoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
*I mean absolutely no disrespect to anyone who has taken part in any of the 12 step recovery programs, or to the organizations that provide such needed assistance.
Our modern day practices at Christmas, sacred and secular alike, seem to have drifted so far from the original intent as to appear in many ways strikingly similar to those of one suffering from an addiction. Weight loss or weight gain, changes in mood, behavior or sleep patterns, financial difficulties caused by the addiction, inability to fulfill ones obligations...those symptoms could just as easily be applied to someone suffering from a misuse of the holidays.
My revisions of these 12 steps is merely my attempt at tilting at windmills.
3 comments:
Speedy recovery, my friend.;-)
I really appreciate #11. "Improving my conscious contact with God" has been the source of my focus lately. It's amazing to me that God not only knows us, but also wants us to know Him - intimately! Any thoughts on how to keep Him in the forefront of our thoughts throughout the day?
"Conscious contact" for me seems to require avoiding a routine. I post verses around the house, but change them frequently. Listen to uplifting or convicting music, but not the same disk too many times in a row. Have a plan for quiet time, but shake things up: different location, order, materials, etc.
It seems that our minds get comfortable or desensitized too quickly with the predictable.
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