A Story of Recovery:

God is Driving the Bus


I had 25 minutes to get to my doctor’s appointment across town. I decided the bus was faster than taking the subway. My lighter body took me to the bus stop quickly. Having lost 96 pounds, running felt so good that I kept running.

Well, I got to the bus stop, but the bus was late. I was disappointed. I waited. When the driver finally arrived, he announced that he wanted to take a five-minute break. I thought, “A break! I have to be somewhere!” So I took off running to the subway.

As pedestrians started to blur and sirens screamed past, a small thought whispered: Is this abstinent behavior? Am I getting a high from all of my hurrying?

I got off the subway and ran four blocks uphill. Sweaty and out of breath, I arrived at the building just as the bus rolled by.

Easy does it never was so clear. A little bit of rest and patience would have achieved the same results. In my recovery, my higher power tells me to rest and have patience. Sometimes I want to speed up my recovery, but I have learned that my way is difficult and my higher power’s way is easy. God is driving my recovery bus and I simply need to get on and ride.

 

This story was originally published in the Connection Magazine. Subscribe to the Connection Magazine for more stories of recovery. Or submit your own story of recovery.