Do You Remember to Surrender?

I bet that you, like me, have had one of those experiences where you worry and sweat and fuss over some situation (or person) in your life and then you go to a meeting or talk to a sponsor or a recovery friend and you remember that you could have surrendered sooner. It’s that old, “I could have had a V-8!” experience.

So how do you remember to turn things over? And how can you remember that you have a Higher Power: God, Goodness, Grace, or the Group that you can rely on. I often think that having a 12-step bumper sticker on the back of the car is a terrific service to others. The driver behind you gets a jolt of remembering his/her commitment to recovery—but what about you?

Yes, in early recovery you may have (I did) piled your desk with recovery slogans and pamphlets, and little recovery mottos etc. But maybe you’d like to be a little bit more discreet now? That’s smart actually—we are maturing and no longer broadcasting our membershipJ

I love a great reminder tool a good friend taught me. I noticed that she had frog figurines and some frog

pictures in her car, desk calendar, kitchen etc. I thought it was just one of those “collector” things until she explained that her frogs were her reminders to Fully Rely On God. Yeah, F.R.O.G.

Cute? Yeah. Corny? Maybe. Discreet? Definitely. And does it work? Oh yes it does. So I have learned to keep a few frogs where I can see them. And yes—it works even if your HP is not a “God”—you still get the good reminder to take a breath, surrender and turn things over.

Recently I was buying some kid’s toys and I saw a bright green, plush Beanie Baby frog. My first reaction was “that’s cute but a bit cornball” but when I put him on my desk he immediately dropped (flopped) into a yoga pose so I knew this frog would be a perfect reminder to fully rely on my higher power, and to “move a muscle change a thought.”

And yes, he is also very playful and that’s another good reminder for my usual busy, important, serious girl self.