Keep It Simple!

“Keep it simple”, a phrase I heard repeatedly in the early days of my recovery. Even today, 21 years later, if I practice this my life goes much better.  The best way for me to keep it simple in my recovery is by having a good sponsor. 

Just a few weeks ago my sponsor came up to me and said, “Mac, do you want to have a good life?” I responded, “Yes, of course!”  He said, “You need to become more obedient!”  Wow, I thought to myself, have I done something wrong?  He was looking at me without saying anything. Then finally he said, “We all do! Pass that along to those you sponsor.”

The simplicity of his challenge is that I can always look for areas in my life where I can become more obedient. I Thessalonians 4:11-12 says, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”

That sounds like a pretty simple lifestyle, doesn’t it? So what then is our common goal?

Winning the respect of outsiders by our daily living and making the most of every opportunity to share with others what has been given to us.  In other words, getting the word out!

One way to get the word out is simply by using your cell phone. My personal phone says, “Hey this is Mac with Celebrate Recovery.  Leave your number and I’ll call you back.”

You will be surprised at the people who will ask “What is Celebrate Recovery?” before they say what they called about. I got a call from a man the other day with that question.  After much talk about CR, I directed him to a group in his home town.  He was about to hang up then remembered we hadn’t talked about what he called for in the first place!

Remember get the word out and keep it simple!

Mac