Higher Power Spirituality Recalculating the Route I believe that God’s “will” for us is only a direction, not one path for us. Because I have free will, I can choose a direction based on my character defects, yet still have things work out. That’s because I believe God works like the GPS in a car: if we’re driving in the wrong direction, the GPS recalculates and … Read More
How OA Changed My Life Recovery Following Suggestions I’ve completed seven years of abstinence and recovery in OA, yet until recently had always been puzzled by this quotation from “How It Works”: “Here are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program of recovery” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 59). Why simply “suggestions”? I had come to believe that my recovery depended on following these Twelve Steps … Read More
Tools & Concepts Writing Work the Workbook Prior to May 1979, I was unhappy, overweight, and miserable. I ate to console myself, and things got worse with every binge. The vicious cycle was a major part of my life, and I saw no way out. Fast-forward thirty-six years, and I have been blessed with many miracles. Abstinence has become the most important thing in my life, and I … Read More
Literature Tools & Concepts Slogan Direction The Third and Eleventh Steps were difficult for me in the beginning because of the word “will”; “our will” in the Third Step and “His will” in the Eleventh. “Will” sounds so demanding, definitive, coercive, and exacting. However, in the process of writing about Step Three, I came to understand it as “God’s direction.” I believe God is always trying … Read More