Monday, September 15, 2008

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 - "The Turning Point"


"THE TURNING POINT"

At the beginning of "How It Works" are the words we are so familiar with, "We stood at the turning point."
I can identify many such turning points in my life and they remind me of Robert Frost's poem - - of his "two roads".

ROBERT FROST: THE ROAD NOT TAKEN (1915)
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
____________________________________________________________________

In each case, my choice of the road taken has "made all the difference". I used to believe that I made many wrong
choices, but no longer think so. I believe my Higher Power, God, has had His hand on my life from the moment He breathed life into me. Despite heartaches, disappointments, frustrations, each choice I made brought me to where I am today and I dearly love my life today.

Is my life perfect? HECK NO! But it is a wonderful life.

Some of my roads taken:
I had been accepted into a Master's program in Clinical Psychology in my 20s and at the last minute I scrapped that plan to marry my first husband who I discovered almost 20 years later was an alcoholic. (Denial was my middle name.) I often
wonder what would have happened if I had followed the road to my counseling degree and become a clinical psychologist? I know I would have been good at it, but God has used my natural abilities in that area in AA, in Alanon, and with others He has brought into my life.

My marriage ended (I didn't believe in divorce) and I thought that the marriage had been a wrong road taken, but it wasn't at all - it produced my two children - gifts from a loving God. God blessed that road in His way. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Another road taken was my choice to use alcohol as my "final solution" to the "life problems" I had - my total inability to
cope with life on life's terms. It worked great for a few years and then did an abrupt about-face and nearly killed me.
Another wrong road, right? NO, not a wrong road. It led me to the greatest happiness, freedom, and joy I could ever have imagined. And that road led me to AA and later to Alanon.

I have often been lost in the woods (whether I knew it or not) and the loving hand of my God has always been there in my choice of the road taken.

Thank God for that!

15 comments:

Patricia Marie said...

Thanks for sharing a beautifully written post.

As a post note, my beloved grandmother's name was Anna.

Anonymous said...

Gosh, am I the first to comment on this? I didn't even KNOW it was THURSDAY??...Prayer Girl, check that calender again?

In any event (or day) what you have to say is usually to the point, and seemingly directed by your Higher Power.

By your 'name' I'm figuring that lots of answers to my questions can be found in prayer and meditation. Now, where have I heard THOSE two words together before? Try Step Eleven, Steve E.

Anonymous said...

And God has led you to us. Thank God for that!

Shadow said...

today you are exactly where you are meant to be - just something i believe to be true.

Laura said...

It's so amazing when we look at the tapestry of our lives, and realize that through it all, God was able to turn our wrong or bad choices into usable and wonderful moments. Choosing God first now, makes the journey much clearer and manageable and we aren't trying to do it alone. Yay!

Anonymous said...

Yikes - I wrote Tuesday's post early in the day on Monday and said, "Wow, I'm ahead of myself".

SEEMS I GOT "TOO" MUCH AHEAD OF MYSELF AND PUBLISHED IT AS A THURSDAY POST.

Thanks "Sir Correct-a-roni" for the heads up. I fixed it - reeled my blog back into Tuesday where it belonged.

You all out there, thanks for keeping me on the right road.

Lou said...

I'm with you PG, I would not change a thing! How blessed are we to be able to say that.

indistinct said...

I'm with Laura. Amazed at how God has taken all my wrong choices to change me and turn it into something good.

Knowing this helps me to try to stay out of the way when my children are going through rough times. (well, some of the time.)

Syd said...

Things seem to work out according to God's plan and not ours. I don't think that you were lost at all but on the right path to where you needed to be.

Kathy Lynne said...

I'm not sure I'm there yet in being grateful for the troubled road that led me here, but I am grateful to be here. My original career choice was social work and alcohol essentially led me away from there so I identified with your statement about being able to use your natural abilities in the programs. But as I ponder sponsership I go back to one of the reasons I abandoned social work and that was because I didn't want another person to be the commodity of my f*ck ups.

~Tyra~ said...

Great post, thank you.

Anonymous said...

My life experience does validate what you are saying. Love your blog. My father died of alcoholism long ago. It gives me hope to see folk who...are doing well.

J-Online said...

This is so thought provoking for me. I typically say "there isn't anything in my life I would change, because what has happened in my past made me the person I am today." I've honestly believed that. I recently made the comment that if I could change anything, it would be my alcoholism. I know in my heart I will understand why I chose this road and will be able to see the greatness in it all but I am not there quite yet. Thanks for sharing this Prayer Girl! It has really got me thinking now! Oh yeah....I'm not supposed to be doing that right? LOL

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing. I'm really looking forward to seeing how much you're going to progress! Keep relying on God. You're doing great, PG.

Unknown said...

Thank God for you and allowing me to find you through the very large blogosphere! Thank you,
Gabi