August 5: Turning Hearts Toward Home
When you started the list, did the names closest to you show up last? Your kids. Your parents. The people at your own dinner table?
“And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”
The last words of the Old Testament are a promise. God will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Hearts turned away from each other can be turned back. That’s something only God can do, and He promises to do it.
Family is often where drinking does its deepest damage. Missed games and recitals. Promises broken. Holidays ruined. Anger at the dinner table. Kids who learned to watch your mood before they spoke. Parents who lay awake wondering where you were.
These names can be the hardest to put on the list, because you see them every day. And because the harm isn’t one big event. It’s years of small ones.
Put them on the list anyway. Your spouse. Each child, by name. Your parents. Brothers and sisters. Write down what the harm was, as honestly as you can. Not to beat yourself up, but so you can see clearly.
For many families, the most important amends won’t be one conversation. It will be a changed life. Showing up. Keeping promises. Being patient. Being present. That’s sometimes called a living amends. It takes a long time, and it starts now.
Be gentle with yourself and with them. Hearts that turned away over years don’t turn back in a day. Your kids may not trust you yet. Your spouse may still be angry. That’s fair. Your job is to become willing and to start living differently. Turning their hearts is God’s work.
Malachi’s promise is for your family too. God can turn hearts. Keep praying for it.
One thing today
Write each family member’s name on your list with one sentence about how your drinking affected them. Then do one small, kind thing for one of them today.
A prayer
Father, You promised to turn hearts. Turn my heart toward my family, and in Your time, turn their hearts back toward me. Help me show up for them today. Amen.
Family names belong on the Step Eight list too, often first.
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