The Principle of Faith

I've been contemplating what it means that Step Three gave me the principle of faith. Not faith as belief in doctrine or adherence to religious teaching but faith as a way of living. Faith as the willingness to move forward when I cannot see the outcome. Faith as trust in something beyond my own understanding.

Before Al-Anon I lived by certainty or at least the illusion of it. I needed to know how things would turn out before I could proceed. I required guarantees before I could take risks. This need for certainty kept me paralyzed trying to control everything so I wouldn't be surprised by outcomes I couldn't predict.

Faith is different from certainty. Faith says I don't know how this will turn out but I'm willing to take the next right step anyway. Faith says I can't control the future but I can trust the process. Faith says I don't have all the answers but I don't need them to move forward.

This principle has become foundational to my recovery. Every time I let go of someone I love I exercise faith. Every time I set a boundary without knowing how others will respond I practice faith. Every time I attend a meeting or work a Step I live by faith. It's become my operating system replacing the old program of control and certainty.

Today I can take one step forward in faith without needing to know how everything will turn out.