Turning my life and will over to God

Step 3 of the LDS services addiction recovery program reads: "Decide to turn your will and your life over to the care of God the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ." As a recovering addict, I attempt to make that choice every day of my life. Thinking beyond the crucial change of addiction recovery, however; it seems to me that step 3 really is the answer to all of the important changes I need to make.

For example, throughout my life I have studied the scriptures sporadically. A scripture study habit is a basic change that I know will bless me with gospel knowledge, spiritual growth, and divine guidance. So what is the secret to making that change? I don't know that there is a secret, but I do believe the principle of turning my life and will over to Jesus Christ will provide me guidance.

I have found that I can pray with a simple question, i.e. "Father, what is thy will will for me? What would thou have me do to develop a habit of feasting on the scriptures every day? Whatever thou will have me do, I will do."

I find two things happen when I ask a question such as that. First, I always get an answer if I listen. It may not come that second, but it does come. Second, following that prompting leads me to find ability in myself I did not know was there.

Sometimes the prompting is unexpected. When I asked the above question, I was prompted to read a book that had been on my shelf for months. The book had nothing in particular to do with scripture study, but it lead me to an understanding of "capturing". Capturing has changed the way I approach the scriptures and has brought new meaning to my study.

Is change simple? No. Especially the big changes that I know I need to make in my life. But a simple pattern of turning my life and will over to my Savior every single day, has been the one absolute I can count on to slowly develop the changes my soul requires.