Meditations on "Amends"

The second promise found in the Big Book of AA tells us that if we continually work the steps, “We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.

A healthy foundation for life with God in recovery includes seeking truth in all our affairs.

In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous there is a section on making amends and sorting things out with our families.

An important part of recovery is coming to an honest view of what happened in our relationships.

Just for today I will be agreeable. I will not criticize, not find fault, and not try to improve or control anybody except myself.

One of the central pillars of the recovery world is the sharing of our experience, strength, and hope.

Many of us know from personal experience and from what we have seen and heard from others that the consequences of a lifestyle of drug or alcohol misuse are painfully destructive.

All of us who have weathered the storms of an addictive lifestyle know that our days were filled with trials of one sort or another.

Making amends is a responsibility we must take very seriously if we want to protect our sobriety.

Having a loving relationship with God and praying with Him about everything we do is the solid foundation for those who seek to build their lives with God in recovery.

When we begin the recovery process we are often overwhelmed by the guilt and shame of the mess we have made of our lives.

Making amends requires a will to do so. Some of us struggle to be sorry for our harmful actions towards another and want to justify ourselves for what we did.