“And that is precisely what Christianity is about. This world is a great sculptor’s shop. We are the statues and there is a rumor going round the shop that some of us are some day going to come to life.”
– C.S. Lewis

Come to life. What does that mean, exactly? For me, it is summed up in a statement often heard in the rooms of 12-Step recovery programs: “I came. Came to. And came to believe.” In other words – I showed up at my first meeting and kept going to meetings. Then I got sober and my mind cleared of the addictive substance. And when all that was working, I accepted the reality that there is a God and it is most certainly not me.

It was in recognizing my inability to control my own addictive behaviors and accepting the help of God through others that I began to understand what it means to come to life. Before that, I was just a pile of clay, sludging about, attempting to walk, run and jump when I had no feet. But, when I admitted I had a problem, the sculpting of a statue began. As my mind cleared, the statue took beautiful form in willingness, honesty, open-mindedness and hope. And, finally, as those who had gone before me guided me to a new way of acting and reacting, the statue of me became active – alive. Through trust in what I was able to see in the lives of others, I was given the chance to grasp hold of that same life myself.

Don’t get me wrong – I am not saying that everyone in 12-Step recovery believes in a Christian God. 12-Step recovery programs are made up of everyone from Jewish to Muslim to Atheist and Agnostic to Buddhist and Christian. What I am saying is that in re-reading one of my favorite C.S. Lewis books, Mere Christianity, I was reminded of the gorgeous moments when I came to life because of my recovery from food and alcohol addiction. I was reminded that it was through others that I was first able to see and hear God. And it was through God that my lump of clay came, came to, and came to believe.

With gratitude to the Great Sculptor for His vision and patience, and absolute grace.