𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓-𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 🌼

Help reaches us in mysterious ways, often at the very moment we feel most alone, as if some benevolent presence watches over the fragile shape of our lives. The passage I have shared today from the end of the chapter titled “Truth Freed Me!” in the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous deeply affected me through its expression of this idea. It reminded me of how often we are met by help from a place we never looked for, and how often it arrives at the exact moment when our strength feels gone. In the passage, a man went searching for money, believing that was his salvation. Instead, he was guided to the truth that his real support came from a completely unexpected source, one that already knew his needs before he could speak them aloud.

I have lived this more times than I can count, many of which I understood only in hindsight. Last week offered another reminder. I had finished three long twelve-hour shifts in the Medical/Surgical Trauma unit, and for three days the low tire pressure light in my car had been glowing. I kept telling myself that I would take care of it when I finally had a day off after that three-day marathon. As I drove home after that third shift, exhausted and ready to collapse into bed, the tire finally failed. It happened only minutes from my house, on a slow road where I could pull over safely. If it had failed earlier during that drive while I was on the freeway, I might not be here reflecting on these things. Something protected me. Some call that presence God. Others use another name. Whatever it was, it arranged the world around me so that danger became mercy.

Experiences like this make me aware of how many times we are carried without recognizing it. A book appears in our hands at the perfect moment. A person crosses our path who changes the direction of our inner life. A situation we once feared becomes the doorway to a new and truer version of ourselves. These things do not arrive by accident. They come from an unseen source that understands the trajectory of our lives more clearly than we do. They come to move us toward who we are meant to become.

When I look back on the different phases of my life, I can see how many times I was guided without realizing it. I can see the moments when I thought I was lost, only to discover later that something had been leading me the entire time. It is humbling to recognize how many gifts entered my life silently, without fanfare, yet changed me forever.

That is why this passage from the end of “Truth Freed Me!” means so much to me. It shows me that we are never as alone as we think. Even in our lowest moments, a path is being prepared for us. Help is on its way even when we cannot see it. Something loving and patient is always working for our good, arranging the details of our lives with a wisdom far beyond our own.

I hope that anyone who reads these words can feel a tiny spark of that truth. You are being watched over and guided. You are being carried toward a life that is waiting for you with open arms. The help you need may come from a place you do not expect, yet it will arrive at the exact moment you are ready to receive it. 🧡

~~~~~

“I told him my story completely. I went to him believing that my need was money. I went there as a last resort to attempt to pry it loose to meet my needs. My need was not money, but again I had been led to the proper source. After having related my story to the banker, who knew my reputation not only as an alcoholic but as an individual who didn’t pay his bills, he said, ‘I know something of what you are trying to do, and I believe you are on the right track. Are you right with the Father who knows your needs before you ask? If so, you are not dependent upon this bank or any individual in it, or any rules by which we operate, because your help comes from an ever present and all powerful Father. I am going to do everything I can to secure this loan for you. However, I don’t want anything that happens here to throw you off the track, I want you to leave here feeling that you have done everything you could to secure those funds, and go about your business. Your business is business with God’s work. I don’t know whether that calls for you to go and collect a bill, sell some new contract, or to sit quietly and pray, but your Father knows and if you will but permit Him, He will direct you.’

“I had again found reality. My needs were met from another entirely unexpected source.

“The manifestations of this ever present Power in my experience since 1936 are too numerous to mention. Let it suffice to say that I am profoundly grateful for the opportunities I have had of seeing and knowing ‘TRUTH.’”

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