This morning my son had a baseball game. We played against the team that has not won a game. I really felt bad for those boys because some of them are really good but they just got dealt a bad hand. I thought about how sometimes I have felt low about the fact that we have lost more games than we have won. Then the thought came today about how lucky we are that we didn't get on a team that didn't have enough good players. I am grateful that my son got on a team that got to win some games.

Also, the coaches on both teams got into some heated disagreements about some confusing game situations. I was grateful to have some self-control and perspective. I am not so invested in justice that I can't accept when things aren't fairly judged or mistakes are made. I am able to keep sight of the big picture that it is just a game and they are just kids. I am able to accept that the other team just wants to win too. This is evidence for me about the power of God's grace to work within me.

It was a tight game and the other team had the last at bat and chance to win but they had two strikeouts.

Last night I got to chair our Big Book study meeting. A lot of people showed up and we read the second part of "The Man Who Mastered Fear". This is just what I needed to read as I have been feeling fearful lately that I should be doing more to make money for my family. I had a perspective re-alignment in remembering that I must keep first things first and I have been blessed with a job that allows me to participate in 12 step fellowship and the job environment is sane.

There was a guy there that I remembered from the meeting that I used to attend at the treatment center that I used to go to. I remembered him because he shared in the meeting about his angst over his woman and he also wasn't "feeling it" in his own recovery. He became disruptive and had to be escorted out. He expressed similar distress last night about his day and about being distracted from the reading but on a much lower level. I was grateful to see him and see him doing ok. I was grateful to get to see him after the meeting and to help him work through it and give him words of encouragement.

Today I was resentful that my wife went to the hospital to spend time with my neice. I was afraid that the housecleaning and yardwork would not get done and I might be late to church tomorrow. I was selfish in only thinking about my difficulties.

I didn't want to let go of my "justifiable" anger but the objective thought came to mind that resentment is toxic to me and I must ask God to remove it. I finally did so and the result was immediate.

BTW, I got enough of the work done that needed to be done and I got to play with the kids in the yard.

Tonight a guy called me very concerned about a fifth step he had just heard. I got to talk to him about it and help him see that he had done a good job. I was grateful for the opportunity to do a twelfth step task.

Thanks be to God for wonderful day.