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SEPTEMBER 13 Reflection for the Day

We hear often in our Gamblers Anonymous meetings that pain is the touchstone of spiritual progress. We eventually realize that, just as the pains of compulsive gambling had to come before our abstinence, emotional turmoil comes before serenity. We no longer commiserate with all people who suffer, but only with those who suffer in ignorance – those who don’t understand the purpose and ultimate utility of pain. In Proust’s words, “To goodness and wisdom we make only promises; pain we obey.”

Do I believe that pain is God’s way of trying to get my attention?

Today I Pray
May I understand the value of pain in my life, especially if I am headed breakneck down a track of self-destruction. May I know that pain is God’s way of flagging down the train I’m on before it gets to a bridge wash-out. May I be thankful that pain forced me to throw the switch in time.

Today I Will Remember
Pain saves lives.

SEPTEMBER 14 Reflection for the Day

Until we came to the Gamblers Anonymous Program, our lives had been spent running from pain and problems. Escape by way of compulsive gambling was always our temporary solution. Then we started going to meetings. We looked and listened, often with amazement. Everywhere around us, we saw failure and misery transformed by humility into priceless assets. To those who’ve made progress in the GA Program of Recovery, humility is simply a clear recognition of what and who we really are – followed by a sincere attempt to become what we can be.

Is the GA Program showing me what I can be?

Today I Pray
I pray for humility, which is another word for perspective, a level look at the real me and where I stand in relation to God and other people. May I be grateful to humility: it is the processing plant through which my raw hurts and delusions are refined into new courage and sensitivities.

Today I Will Remember
Humility restores my “sight.”