Today with Chris and Tracey – “Spiritual Fitness”

We were at one of our regular meetings last night and the topic of discussion was “spiritual fitness.” I am a simple man and as such I have to take a simple look at things. I realized early in my recovery that, indeed, I needed to be “spiritually fit.” I also realized that if I needed to be “spiritually fit” I needed to know what that meant. For me (thank goodness) it seemed simple. Fitness takes work. If I want to be physically fit I go to the gym. When I get there I have to do some work – just standing around watching others work-out is not going to get me fit. I apply this same principle to my “spiritual fitness.” I have to work-out or exercise spiritually.

I also had to make a determination as to the other half of “spiritually fit.” For me “spiritual fitness” depends on my relationship with God as I understand Him – the conscious contact I have with God today. It seems pretty simple to me today. In order to be “spiritually fit” I need to “work-out” my relationship with God.

As with any good relationship, today I see and understand that my relationship with God depends directly on the communication that I have with Him. This communication, for me today, is in the form of prayer and meditation. Prayer is me talking to God and meditation is me listening to God. I have come to understand a couple of very important things concerning this:

1) Talking is just that – talking. Just as it is with my relationship with Tracey, I have to talk. I have to talk honestly and openly with Tracey each and every day. If I had 5 or 6 written down, memorized “talks” that I presented to Tracey every day, and that was all, our relationship would wither and die quickly. It is the same with my relationship with God. Today, I am aware that when I talk to God, when I pray, it needs to be more than just some memorized or written down prayer. Just as I talk to Tracey I need to talk to God. Without talking to God in the same open and honest manner my relationship with God will never be as strong and loving as I need it to be and He desires it to be. Today, I talk to God.

2) Listening is just that – listening. Again, I go to my relationship with Tracey. If I never listened to her when she was trying to talk to me our relationship would wither and die quickly (real quick!) The same is true concerning my relationship with God. This is where my meditation comes in. I need to make myself be still and “know that God is there.” When I am in meetings I listen to what is being shared. This is one of the ways I meditate. Always, God is able to get His point across to me through my brothers and sisters in the fellowship. I also read daily devotional material. I am a Christian – I read the Bible. I am an alcoholic – I read the Big Book. God is more than able to and does talk to me in these areas. Today, I listen to God.

Today, I see that my “spiritual fitness” takes me “working-out” my relationship with God. The “spiritual fitness machine” I have found that works the best is prayer and meditation – honest and open communication with God.

Chris and Tracey