God Box

This post in my online AA group came at a perfect time for me last night. I thought I'd share it here.

"I was sorting through a box of papers and treasures, deciding what to toss and what to store in safe-keeping. Lo and behold, the box I chose to sort through was the one that contained all my stuff from my first year of sobriety. All kinds of treasures... like, when I would hear profound things in AA meetings, I'd scribble notes on scraps of paper. I kept all those notes! Plus I found notes and cards and phone numbers from people who were there during those early years -- people who extended their hands to me and showed me the way. I found AA pamphlets, letters of encouragement from family members, and I even found some early 12-step work stuff I had written.But the thing that really struck me the most was a small cardboard box wrapped up in brittle rubber bands that crumbled the moment I touched them. Stuffed inside the small box were many, many pieces of paper, folded up into little wads. This was my very first "God Box." For those of you who haven't heard, a "God Box" is a tool some of us use to get into the habit of physically turning things over to God, so we can learn to stop trying to manage our own lives. We chose a box of any size, shape, color, it doesn't matter. When we find ourselves worried or concerned or stressed out over something in life, we write it all out in a letter to God. Then we fold up the letter and we put it in the God Box. Once it goes into that box, and the lid goes back on the box, then the problem belongs to God. It's no longer our problem. We don't own it anymore -- God does. And whenever the problem seeps back into our minds and we find ourselves stewing about it, we quickly remind ourselves that we are no longer in charge of that problem. It belongs to God, and we can't take it back. We never take those things out of the God Box. They stay there permanently. And little by little, day by day, problem by problem, we learn to "LET GO AND LET GOD." We learn in a practical way that we are no longer in the business of managing outcomes. We have a new Manager, and there isn't a problem in that box that God isn't capable of handling on our behalf. Now, almost 15 years later, I can pull out all those problems that were so serious and so difficult. I can read through them and smile. My heart fills with gratitude, because I know for CERTAIN that I have a Higher Power in my life today that absolutely worked out all those problems 100% without any assistance from me. I love passing on this tool to my sponsees. They all have God Boxes -- in fact, I often give them new beautifully decorated boxes for Christmas or birthday presents. My sponsees treasure those gifts. They fill them with all their worries and their concerns and their problems, and we both get to watch God at work in their lives. It's a precious experience. I encourage everyone here today to select your biggest, most pressing problem. Write it all out in a letter to God. Then fold up the paper and tuck it inside your own God Box. Then LEAVE IT THERE! And if the issue starts nagging at your brain, just remember that it doesn't belong to you anymore. You've given it to God. It's in good, capable hands. Watch as God becomes the new Manager of your life. "