“It Won’t Make Sense, Until It Does”
I’m a proud member of Alcoholics Anonymous. To those on the outside looking in—especially those who have never given it a chance—the idea that a “simple 12-step program” could work seems impossible. All the science, psychology, psychiatry, even hypnotism and every other means of treatment often come up short in curing this insidious disease. Some argue it isn’t even a disease at all, but rather a lack of willpower or discipline.
Yet I have seen, with my own eyes, the impossible. People once written off as lost causes—addicts from broken homes, abusers, criminals, men and women who have done prison time, lived on the streets, raved in madness, and walked talking to themselves barefoot on the asphalt—become transformed. I would never trade places with where they started, but I cannot deny what they’ve become.
Like Eckhart Tolle describes, I’ve come to see the world on two planes. On one, we are fragile, temporary, flawed creatures—driven by ego, prone to riot, stumbling through life. On the other, we are eternal souls. That man on the corner, lost in madness, has the same eternal soul you and I do. Don’t be fooled by appearances: we are all children of God.
Our earthly minds cannot grasp why some stumble and others don’t. We cannot reason out suffering or map out salvation. What I do know is this: life itself is a calling, a returning, a transcending. Once we surrender to God—in thought, in faith, in trust—we realize all of this has purpose, even if our intellect cannot conceive it.
Addiction recovery proves this truth. No science, no practitioner, no medical formula can explain why one man rises from the ashes while another perishes. The answer lies only in what AA calls a “spiritual awakening.” That’s it. That’s the miracle.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
— 2 Corinthians 5:17
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the miracle of transformation. Thank You that what the world calls impossible, You make possible. Remind me that every person I see—whether broken, struggling, or thriving—carries within them an eternal soul created by You. Lord, peel back the layers of my own ego and help me to walk in humility, grace, and gratitude for the gift of recovery. May my life reflect not my strength, but Your power, mercy, and love.
Amen.
