I want to talk about love! Love your neighbour as yourself… Do we experience much of that?
Perhaps we haven’t learnt to love ourselves yet and if we are to love our neighbours as ourselves we need to know what it means to love ourselves first.
Journeying through the 12 Steps, I am learning to love myself through being patient, through being kind, through accepting who I am and understanding myself.
I am learning not to compare myself with others, but to walk my own walk.
I am learning to love myself by acknowledging my feelings and letting them go. I am learning to love myself by doing the things I enjoy, that refresh and restore me, in balance with my work and what I need to do as a mum and wife.
And what I am discovering is that by learning to love myself I am much better at loving others – everyone, authentically.
I am learning to be more patient and to treat others with more kindness because I know I need to understand and accept people for who they are.
I am aware of the importance of balance and boundaries that allow me to give and then step back. I am learning not to judge, but to look at the bigger picture.
I am learning that I can’t fix people, I can only work on myself. So perhaps that’s how we love our neighbour as ourself – invest in ourselves to be able to invest in others.
For more details, log on to: https://www.wokinghambaptist.org.uk/610/Celebrate-Recovery
Or search social media for #celebraterecovery and #12stepstorecovery
Anna Adams is a member of Wokingham Baptist Church, writing on behalf of Churches Together in Wokingham
