Lessons from a Quarter

.25 cents. Who would think God's lesson could come from a quarter? It happened to me today.

A little background first, I have been in recovery from my compulsive, controlling, out of control, no boundaries in relationship's life for 10 weeks now. Many days, it feels like work. It feels like very difficult work. It has been a battle to go to church on Sunday. The guilt and shame are very strong in my life. However, I am committed to the process. I have celebrated 2 months of financial sobriety as well. God is working in me even as I don't "feel it" or see it evidenced immediately.

Now, back to the quarter. Wednesday, I sat with a family to have a discussion. One of the individuals had to leave toward the end of the meeting and when they got up from their seat, there it was. In the chair that the person just stood up from was a shiny quarter. I noticed it almost immediately during the conversation. After a few minutes and when I noticed it a second time, I said to the other person, "they dropped a quarter in their chair." This was a big step for me. I verbalized and recognized that the quarter did not belong to me and I was making sure someone else knew.
When we finished talking, I went over and picked up the quarter handing it to the person. That's it. Seems very simple until I met with my sponsor yesterday. We celebrated a quarter! A recognition in a small thing of part of my recovery. Recognizing that I have boundaries that are good and healthy.

It makes me smile to think about that .25 cents.