One Day At A Time...

I have a mentor that is nearly 30 years sober from alcohol and runs marathons. I look up to her and want to emulate her life in so many ways. I can't wait to be 30 years sober of anything. I can only imagine the wisdom that will come with that. However, if you ever hear that "Dani Sumner" ran a marathon check the I.D. because trust me, it wasn't me. And that is okay.

I am 9 days sober from gluten (except the one small delicious cinnamon roll I ate last Sunday)--but I am officially gluten free. And I am 3 days in to my running routine. I know it seems premature to celebrate but 3 days of running and 9 days gluten free is a small miracle around here. For those of you with the 'gift of discipline' and the love of exercise feel free to giggle out loud. :)

My mentor reminds me often that she didn't become 30 years sober or a marathon runner over night. It took time. It took days and days strung together of 'showing up' and ‘shoveling’ through life. Sometimes I just want to fast forward through all the years of growing and stretching and ups and downs. 

Galatians 4:4a says "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son"

’set time’… It takes about an hour to bake a potato, about 9 months for a baby to fully mature and a lifetime to build a life. Life is not about arriving anywhere, it's about living right where we are, every day. One day at a time… 

I want to live an abundant life. Jesus came to give life and to give it abundantly, one day at a time…

I don't want to just live a miserable existence waiting for the future and ‘the eternal hope of glory’ to arrive. I believe life is so much more than 'getting through' or 'getting by'. 

I want to thrive. I want ALL God has for me today. And tomorrow too. 

I am on this eternal journey to live a full life right where I am, whatever I am walking through. But it’s so hard at times. One of my 'spiritual gifts' is self pity. Another 'gift' I have is resentment. I was reminded again this week that until I accept life on life's terms, I will never have joy or peace. 

There are only 2 options in my mind--acceptance OR self pity/resentment. 

With acceptance comes peace and joy, purpose and relationships/companions to walk through this life with. 

Self pity and resentment have 'companions' as well, but they are usually just as miserable as we are--"misery loves company". 

I don't want to live in the "should have, would have, or could have" OR in the "IF I have this or that, THEN I will be happy." OR "WHEN this or that happens, THENeverything will be ok."

I heard a woman say last weekend on a retreat "eternity starts now..."--I love that!

So how do I come to this place of acceptance in my life? One day at a time…

I have a love/hate relationship with a quote on acceptance from The Big Book of A.A. Page 417. 

“Acceptance is the answer to ALL of my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation—some fact of my life--unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. 

Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s world by mistake.

Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober; unless I accept my life completely on life's terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes."

I love this quote. It simplifies so much. I have a tendency to overthink and over analyze, to try to find out the 'why's' to everything. To be honest, it's exhausting. The struggle is exhausting. There has to come a time every day for me to just surrender. I wish surrendering to God's will and God's plan and life in this broken world was a one time event. But I find myself needing to re-surrender all the time. I don't want my surrender or acceptance to be a passive—giving up, “I can't take it any more” thing. I want it to be a more beautiful handoff to God's best in my life. 

Remembering God has my best interest at heart… That is a hard pill to swallow at times for some. This broken world may never make sense. The difficulties some walk through every day are awful, there are just no words to comfort. There really is no making sense of our brokenness or hardships at times.  

So for me, it keeps coming back to the Comforter. God didn’t ordain all of this brokenness and heartache. Does He allow it, yes. Why? I don’t know. Trust me, it’s on my list to converse with Him about in Heaven, IF I remember to bring it up when I am living in the presence and reality of the ‘eternal hope of glory’. 

Sin has broken this world for all of us. No one is untouched by it’s affects. 

We have to remember He has our best at heart. He promises to never leave us nor forsake us as we walk through ANYTHING. 

Hebrews 13:5b “because God has said: Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”

He is with us. He is for us. We have a near and present God and He didn’t leave us alone—The Holy Spirit who resides within us to lead, guide, counsel and comfort. 

I heard an awesome quote yesterday—“faith in God can move mountains! But don’t be surprised if God hands you a shovel.”—I love it! Keep shoveling and showing up!

Off to go on a run…and by ‘run’ I mean 1-2 miles of running, but mostly walking and drinking water—hydration is so important! 

Progress not perfection people! 

Lets live our lives to the fullest, you are not alone! 

Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you Trust in him, so that you may Overflow with Hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Daily Grace to you!

Love you,