Stepping-Stones, Nuggets, and Gems Spirituality is the solution to our problem of powerlessness, and we find this solution in the Twelve Step program of recovery. I’ve experienced three stepping-stones in this process: Amen, Amends, Amended Life. Step Three. Amen. So be it. I’ve made a decision to surrender to this process. Steps Four to Nine. The process of housecleaning, ending with my amends. Steps … Read More
Spiritual Rewrite I was complaining recently to my sponsor about the religious language of the Eleventh Step Prayer (AA Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 99), and she suggested I rewrite it in language that is meaningful to me. Perhaps this version will speak to other compulsive overeaters: Higher Power, help me to convey the peace of mind you have given me. Where I find hatred, I can show … Read More
A Pause Between Kitchen and Table I was having trouble staying abstinent in the moments between preparing my food and eating my meal. I wrote this prayer to help me pause to connect with my HP before cooking and then again before picking up my fork: “Dear God, please let me be open and willing to hear your voice for your guidance over my food choices today. I am abstinent because of you. … Read More
Relief from Selfishness My name is Robin, and I am a compulsive overeater. I have been in food recovery for over twenty years, having returned to program after two relapses. The first relapse lasted four months, and the second lasted four years. I have been abstinent almost nine years now by the Grace of God. The Third Step Prayer (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 63) is one that I … Read More
Faith and Uncertainty Dear God, Your plan is severe. I want to have faith in this time of uncertainty. Your protection and guidance have seen us through harsh and dangerous times before. Why are we so far off track from the world you put us here to cultivate? Each spring, I see and feel the renewal, and nature’s beauty moves my soul. Are all those who have passed on part … Read More
Source of Love I don’t consider myself atheist or agnostic, but Steps Two and Three still posed a challenge for me because I found myself unable to embrace the concept of God that I was raised with. I couldn’t understand how an all-powerful, all-loving creator would design a world with so much brutality and suffering, or how I could trust such a God. I felt distressed and wondered … Read More
An Atheist’s Prayer Higher Power, build with me and do with me as this program requires. Relieve me of the bondage of self. Let victory over my difficulties bear witness to the love and power of this program. Let me follow its way of life always. Direct my thinking. Eliminate my self-pity and dishonesty with myself. Confine my self-seeking to positive directions. Keep my mind open and … Read More
Pause and Rewind Recently, my brother asked if I could help trigger memories of our difficult childhood, so I repeated some phrases that were used derisively toward us. It made me think about how far I’ve come with those same words—some I even use now when talking to myself, but in a supportive tone instead of a mean one. I thought about the other triggers I’ve had to work through. It … Read More
Finding Faith Everywhere I heard someone recently talking about coming to OA for the sanity and better friendships. Really? Not to lose weight? I agree that both my sanity and my relationships have improved across the board since I put down my alcoholic foods, but I came into OA to be healthier and smaller. But then I got something more from recovery that … Read More
Drifting to My Higher Power I first joined OA twenty years ago and have been in and out a few times. I have consistently found it frustrating that the word “God” is used in literature and meetings and by sponsors and other members. I’ve found the male pronouns in the Steps and Traditions equally alienating. It’s not just the words that I’ve found problematic: the … Read More
