Nothing Happens By Mistake

In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, there is a line that has given me great comfort in my daily life. It is talking about the things that are put before us and how we handle them.

The line states that “nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s world by mistake”.

To me, this says that there is a reason for everything that goes on in my life. I am told that there are lessons to learn from everything and that I have choices as to how I react to these “opportunities”.

I believe that there are lessons to learn from the things that at are placed in our lives. But, the lessons that are to be learned may not be for us to learn. Maybe, it is a lesson that is to be learned by someone else. It could be that by going thru something with grace, another person can believe that they can do the same thing.

I have a friend that lost his daughter in an auto accident coming home from college for Christmas. He did not go crazy with grief and go off on the world. No, this gentleman came into our group of friends and talked about his grief. He showed me, and others, that we can go thru grief without destroying others and creating more grief.

I have also been taught that my mind sometimes cannot tell the difference between a tragedy and a miracle. An incident that happened in my life 20 years ago is a great example of this fact.

Something happened that, at the time it happened, I knew that my life had changed totally. I was at a crossroads and, depending on which route I took, life would be different.

Thankfully, even though I did not think that it would be a good choice, I took the route that has helped create a fantastic life. A life that is full and provides much joy and happiness.

Looking back on that night, I did not know what was in store but was able to take a route that would help my family and families of many other people.

So, I know that nothing happens in my life by mistake. And that life is as good as I allow it to be.