October 19
After Asking for Guidance
Prayer can be followed by a perfectly ordinary decision. No unmistakable sign appears; the alternatives retain their difficulties. We have asked for guidance, talked with someone we trust, and considered what is ours to do. Yet we may keep waiting because choosing would mean giving up the hope of being certain that nothing can go wrong.
Step Three asks us to turn our will and lives over to God's care. There is still a life to live after that decision, with calls to return and choices to make. Willingness can include acting on the understanding available while remaining teachable about the result. We need not announce that God endorsed our preference. We can simply admit that we sought help and made the most honest choice we could. Faith may become practical in that modest space between having guidance and possessing a guarantee.
Where am I asking for certainty after already receiving enough guidance to act?
I remain responsible for listening after I have chosen.
For the A.A. nerds: Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Step Three.