“Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature” – Romans 12:2 (CEV)

A friend told me that when he was a child, his family used to drive through the country on Sunday evenings for weekly family outings. As his father drove the car, he would point out certain landmarks in the fields to his left or right. My friend said that a slight problem was created when his father did this: He often wound up steering the car in that direction, coming very close at times to getting the family into some serious accidents.

In recovery, there are moments in our walk where we are distracted from our goals and the direction we are heading and we veer off into areas that are dangerous to us personally, relationally, and spiritually. Like the father of my friend, we too may come disturbingly close to getting into situations that could lead to an unintentional accident, a relapse.

We call these situations “Slips.” Most of the time, slips are unintentional, as we do not see the blind spots in our life journey; and at other times, we may intentionally speed up through the caution signs and lights that God desires us to heed.

In the near future, there will be more posts about slips. Until then, as you look into the mirror of the Word, consider if you might be driving the vehicle of your life carelessly or recklessly into unintentional or intentional areas that you made a resolution to avoid. Ignoring these slips could cause a relapse and a return to maladaptive or compulsive behavior.

However, please know that the slip can be a wake-up call during which a spiritual jolt is delivered in our side from our Lord to get us to re-focus from the distraction at hand and back onto the road that leads not only toward sobriety but also toward eternity.

Feel free to leave a comment or pass this post to others who you think would like to read it and by all means, visit my other page at dr ken mcgill’s blog for more helpful “counseling” information.

TeleHealth/Video counseling sessions are available for those who prefer to meet online – Dr. McGill