Today’s scripture reading: Isaiah 6:1-8
And I said, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” Isaiah 6:5 NRSV
It was about ten years ago when I realized that I did not grow up in a home of addiction unscathed. This epiphany prompted me to look for support and I found it in a group for Adult Children of Alcoholics. There, I began to see the power of The Twelve Steps.
The first three Steps come to mind as I read today’s passage from Isaiah. Step One is an admission that we are powerless over the effects that addiction and family dysfunction have had on us, resulting in an unmanageable life. Step Two is a gradual awareness of a Power
greater (beyond) ourselves that can restore clarity and sanity to our lives. Step Three is about making the decision to turn our lives and wills over to this Power.
In chapter 6, Isaiah has an epiphany of his own. He has a vision that prompts him to acknowledge that he has a problem. His problem is unclean lips. Likely, the reason his lips are a problem is that they give voice to the inner problems of his heart. His epiphany helps him to realize that there is a Power greater than himself who can touch his lips, remove his guilt, and
blot out his sin. Isaiah makes the decision to turn his life over to the care of this Power, the Holy Lord of Hosts.
You don’t have to be an addict or grow up in the home of one to have an unmanageable life that leaves you powerless. I invite you to admit your powerlessness. Pray for the grace to believe that there is a God who can do what you can’t. Turn your life over to that Power for the first time (or again) today.
