Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬

One day at a time is a lot of work. It takes a concerted effort that I had not even imagined to stay rooted in the present.

In this moment there is a chance of peace. In this moment there is the possibility of forward progress. In this moment I am given the choice to be or to flee.

It’s often too much. It becomes easier to scurry off in my mind to somewhere else and somewhen else.

In the early days of sobriety when ideas are fresh and the days seem to last for weeks I oscillated between enjoying the newfound freedom of living moment to moment and being terrified of the seeming monotony.

Yes, there is monotony. Yes, there is boredom. Yes, there are stretches of sorrow. No reason to be a child about it. This is what’s called life.

The maladjustment to ordinary living is what we are overcoming one day at a time through the extraordinary means of ordinary living. Monotony is good for us to sit in. Boredom is good for us experience. Sorrow is good for us to feel.

The lion’s share of the experience of grace and rescue from addiction that I have experienced has been in the transformational everyday work of taking one step forward at a time.

Living radically different began with a decision to start walking towards recovery. It continued with another decision to follow directions.

And it continues today with the renewed choice to keep leaning forward which is now fueled with a lot of faith as I look back on a long track record of hope.

Where do I need to step forward today?