eastwester

Step Three--Hope, Faith, Trust....

Posted on 07/13/08, 07:10 pm

......from NA Step Working Guides, pg 27.......
-----There is a spiritual progression from hope to faith to trust in the Third Step. As we begin Step Three, we carry with us the sense of hope that was born in us as we worked the Second Step. Hope springs from the knowledge that our life is full of possibilities- there are no hard certainties yet, just the first whispers of anticipation that we just may be able to fulfill our heart's deepest desires. Lingering doubts fade as hope becomes faith. Faith propels us forward into action; we actually do the work that those we have faith in are telling us is necessary if we are to achieve what we want. In the Third Step, faith gives us the capacity to actually make a decision and carry that decision into action. Trust comes into play after faith has been applied. We have probably made significant progress toward fulfilling our goals; now we have evidence that we can influence the course of our lives through taking positive action.

• Reply #1 07/23/08  11:53am
  
  Moyer
  Hope, Faith & Trust...I can see how they fall into play in the beginning of recovery. Before recovery I couldn't feel hope, not even a little, of course, for me, a little hope wouldn't have been enough even if I could've felt it. Before recovery faith was for religious folks, in my opinion. I believed in my abilities only, and I believed my abilities were never good enough...some faith I had in myself, huh? And before recovery trust was nonexistent in my life, I trusted no one, most certainly not myself. So today, in Step #3, I'm so happy to be able to feel all three, HOPE, FAITH & TRUST, they mean so much more to me now than they ever have before in my life.
• Reply #2 08/13/08  3:47am
  
  brigrob
  Like many others, I had no hope when gambling. I saw no end to the devastation, took no positive step to help myself. Now, I have hope that life can be an adventure again and hold possibilities with a return to normalcy (no gambling). I have faith that my hard work in recovery, my commitment to recovery, will bring positive results and a better life. I have renewed faith in my decision making abilities, whereas with gambling my decisions were clouded in self-doubt. As for trust, I trust that my actions are leading me where I need to be, into a future without gambling and with newfound serenity.
• Reply #3 08/14/08  8:42pm
  
  Auzgurl
  Hopelessness is an awful feeling - desperate, sad - lonely. I remember this so well when in the "action" of gambling. I seemed to had lost faith as I moved away from my own ideals and morals into a world that was lost in deception - the games stopped and reality set in. I didn't like the person I realised I had become. Not only when gambling but the person I was even when I wasn't gambling. I had lost my hope in myself.
  Early in my recovery I learned a really good lesson. Hope - yes I could have hope but I had to work on it. It didn't just happen. How was I to do this? I put faith in my God and began to Trust. This was hard - damn hard - I broke that trust over and over. What now? Continue - keep going - never quit quitting. Who was I doing this for? ME first and then of course my family. I had to change. If I didn't nothing would - so today gradually by the Grace of God I am changing.

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