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A Walk through the 12 steps: Step 3

© Cynthia Webber (Jausten)

Step 3 of any 12-step Program is related to our spirituality. We make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of a Higher Power. Each one of us has the right to choose our own belief in our Higher Power, and even as people dealing with fibromyalgia, we can apply this very important step to our lives.

However, we must be careful to avoid imposing our personal beliefs on one another, and learn to respect other's beliefs about spirituality. Spirituality is different than religion. Spirituality is our personal relationship with our Higher Power, while religion is the outward belief which we follow. If we cannot keep an open mind and respect others' beliefs, then we may actually cause more harm than good. The God of my understanding appeared very early in childhood, but as I have grown physically, mentally and spiritually, I have learned more about my God, and what he can do for me on a personal basis.

Deciding to turn to a Higher Power for help may seem like a huge gamble, but what do we really have to lose? Our self-reliance and determination to "cure" our FMS hasn't worked, and I haven't heard of any new documented "cures," so turning our lives over to a Higher Power is an important step towards our physical, mental and spiritual health. As humans, we tend to turn to a God of our understanding when all else fails, but if we learn to do this first, then our lives will become more focused and balanced.

All we have to do is make a decision to take all of our concerns, feelings, worries, fears, resentments, loves, dreams, wishes, thoughts, choices and relationships, and give them all to the God of our understanding. We don't have to plan and solve the problems in our lives, or even feel comfortable about giving up the control of our lives. Regardless of how we feel, step 3 is only about making a decision to turn our lives over to our Higher Power.

Once we've made this decision to turn our lives over to our High Power, we can then stop trying to control our fibromyalgia. Praying for our fibromyalgia to go away, or praying that a miracle occur to remove the pain, fatigue and other symptoms does offer us hope. However, once we have turned our lives over to our Higher Power, we need to trust Him and not dwell on a complete healing. I believe that the God of our understanding knows more about what is the best for us than we do!

The copyright of the article A Walk through the 12 steps: Step 3 in Fibromyalgia is owned by Cynthia Webber (Jausten). Permission to republish A Walk through the 12 steps: Step 3 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.