Better Results
I make things harder than they need to be when I try to do things my own way instead of following the instructions.
Those who reject what they are taught will pay for it, but those who obey what they are told will be rewarded. Proverbs 13:13 NCV
I recently bought a bookshelf for my daughter, and it came with those familiar words, “Some assembly required.” You know what I mean. This wasn’t just an ordinary bookshelf. It was a circular bookshelf that spins, so it was more complicated to put together than a simple square one. Before I started, I read through the instructions. I didn’t just look at the pictures. I actually read all the words. As I followed the instructions step by step, everything came together perfectly. When I finished, I stepped back to admire my handiwork. I looked at the bookshelf and thought about how easy it was to assemble. All I did was simply follow the instructions. They said it would take about two hours to assemble, and I finished in about an hour and forty-five minutes.
That’s when I had an aha moment. A few months earlier, I put together a patio swing, and that experience was completely different. The instructions said it should take about an hour and a half. But I remember looking at the instructions, focusing on the pictures, and thinking, I’ve done this before. No big deal. I figured I knew what I was doing. But several times during the assembly, I found myself having to undo something I had already put together because I had gotten ahead of the instructions. There was another step that needed to happen first, or a crossbar or support that needed to be installed before I could move on. So I kept having to take things apart and redo them. That patio swing took me five hours to assemble! The difference wasn’t that one project was necessarily easier than the other. It was that I followed the instructions with one and tried to do things my own way with the other. I realized how much time and energy I had wasted on that patio swing simply because I hadn’t followed the instructions.
I started thinking about how life in recovery works the same way. When I follow the instructions, things seem to go better. When I take the recommended prescription as prescribed, I usually get the desired results. I don’t waste nearly as much time and energy having to undo things or go back and do them over again. For example, when I work the steps in order with a sponsor, I find that things go really well. But when I try to do them on my own, out of order, or without a sponsor, I often find myself having to go back and do things over again. I get disappointed because I’m not getting the results I was looking for. I’ve found that the same thing is true in my relationship with God. When I follow His instructions, things seem to go better. When I take the time to pray and seek Him, I find that my relationship with Him is real and vibrant. But when I don’t, He seems distant. The truth is, God hasn’t moved. I’m the one who has changed positions, not Him. So today I’m going to practice following the instructions because I like the results I get when I do. And that’s the gift of recovery for me.
Reflection:
Where in my life am I making things harder than they need to be because I’m not following the instructions?