What in the world is five-finger recovery and why do I need recovery at all?

May 8, 2014: What in the world is five-finger recovery and why do I need recovery at all? Please "Share" this new Precious Prodigal Post: http://bit.ly/1itmbst

1 Cor 14:40 “Let all things be done decently and in order…”

At the end of a very busy week, my writing goals were unmet, the laundry wasn’t done, the Easter decorations were still out, and I had opened a can of soup for dinner. On top of that, I was exhausted. No wonder I was irritable, frustrated, and out of sorts. God has been dealing with me for several weeks about how I spend my time, set my goals, and establish my priorities. Apparently it was now time to take a look at how I’m using my time and energy.

Some time back, I wrote about using “five-finger recovery” to establish priorities. Maybe it’s a good idea for me to revisit that and write about it because I need the reminder even if my readers don’t. The questions people ask at this point are, “Isn’t it the prodigal who needs recovery?” “Do I need recovery too?” The answers are yes and yes. Certainly, the prodigal needs recovery. If they are acting out in destructive ways, that behavior almost always includes drugs or alcohol. So they certainly need recovery. But so do we.

Life tends to beat us up, doesn’t it? And we all carry our own “stuff,” whatever that might be. It could be childhood abuse or abandonment, a divorce, a serious or chronic illness, losing a career or the death of a loved one. Or it may be something else entirely. The causes vary, but it’s pretty safe to say that all of us have survived some kind of trauma or loss.

If you love a prodigal, it goes off the chart, doesn’t it? And when one person begins to act out, especially if it includes drugs or alcohol, the entire family gets sick. One young wife said it perfectly, “He drinks and I get crazy.”

Since we too need recovery, what does that recovery look like? I believe recovery can be summed up on the fingers of one hand, starting with your thumb. Those five fingers are about relationships as well as priorities, and they are in order of importance.

Doing things “decently and in order” (1 Cor 14:40) reminds me there is a certain order to things, whether it’s our home, our church, or our lives, that can make those things run smoothly. And one basic and important truth about those five fingers is that if we get them out of order by skipping one, it’s likely that skipping it will damage or destroy all the others.

The thumb is the largest of our fingers and as such represents God. The pointer finger represents our recovery, the middle finger ourselves, the ring finger our family, our loved ones and close friends, and the pinky represents everything and everyone else…the job, the house, the periphery of our lives.

I can’t possibly cover all of these in one blog post, so I’ll be writing about it for several days. However, knowing there can be order and a plan for priorities can be the beginning. Knowing it starts with our God must be the starting point. And although we may not have all the answers, there is great liberty where the Spirit of God is. (2 Cor 3:17)

Challenge for Today: Can you, just for today, take a look at your hectic life and ask God to begin to show you how to set new priorities?