A Lifetime Task

 I put a copy of the 12 Steps, cut from a newspaper advice column, on my refrigerator a long time ago. I wasn’t in any program; I didn’t drink except socially. I was a young widow with three little boys, and I needed some semblance of a plan. The 12 Steps struck me as as good a place as any to start. I wasn’t powerless over alcohol (yet) - I was powerless over my boys being fatherless. I saw the universal wisdom in the steps, and wanted the daily reminder.

Now I liken the steps to my Creator’s blueprint for the house that is me. The plan calls for a leveling of the lot. The foundation is poured upon the proper preparation. The plan is for something much larger than I think I deserve. In moments of grandiosity, it brings me back to what is reasonable and enough. What would I like in my loved ones’ plans? I can have that.

It’s much more complicated than a simple square house; it has beauty in its quirks, strength in its frame, surprises built in. And like the garden which needs to be weeded, my house requires maintenance. Those 12 Steps show me what I need to do so that I may enjoy my home over my lifetime.

My Architect and I are building together, every day.

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