Liberating Service My first exposure to OA was finding a pamphlet at my doctor’s office: Before You Take That First Compulsive Bite, Remember . . . . I read the cautions against the distorted thinking that leads to compulsive eating. I remember recognizing myself in that pamphlet, and I identified completely. I remember reading the Twelve Steps, getting to the Third Step … Read More
Don’t Disappear Last year, I reflected on whether I should run for another term as intergroup chair. Because of work and family commitments, I felt I was not as effective in the last term as I could have been. It was the second time I had served as an intergroup chair in my twenty-five years in OA. I wondered if I should … Read More
Give It Some G-A-S When I came into OA in 1983, I was taught early on about the G-A-S that makes the program run: Gratitude, Abstinence, and Service. I started my service by giving rides to meetings, arranging for my two daughters to babysit so young mothers could get to meetings, and making at least three phone calls every day. I set up the … Read More
For Others and For Me Service is a big part of my recovery. My disease is one of isolation, and selfishness is a character defect of mine. By giving service, I am forced to interact with others and become selfless. I do things for others without expecting anything in return. It’s a whole new concept for me, doing favors with no strings attached! I started … Read More
Health Fair Help from HP One Friday in September, from noon to 6:00 p.m., our DC Metro Intergroup sponsored a table at a wellness fair in Silver Spring, Maryland USA. I had my doubts about coordinating for the fair and wanted to back out numerous times. But then I was reminded—I did not have to do anything alone, and HP was in charge. I contacted … Read More
Twelfth Step Within Lifeline I am a grateful, abstinent, Lifeline-subscribing member of OA. I love and appreciate our magazine. I have a stack of old Lifelines, and recently my HP inspired me to suggest a good way to use them. When making a Twelfth Step Within call, why not give the prospect a copy of an old Lifeline? I like this idea and recently … Read More
Speaker Go-Getter I’ve been in OA this time around for sixteen years. Before that I was in for eight years, then out for five. For all of these years, I resisted taking a certain service position: Program Chair (or Speaker Getter). It seemed like too much pressure for me to handle. In June, I relented and decided to give the position a … Read More
Easy Service Commitments Service is one of the ways I stay in recovery and out of relapse. When I came back to program last April, I knew that taking continuous action was the only way to keep my program moving forward. The first thing I did was commit to service at the group level because that’s key to getting me to a regular meeting. … Read More
Small Ways That Matter This is my third time back in OA. At first, I came when my mother needed the program. I came back a second time for myself, but I still thought of OA as a calorie-counting club with a diet. This time I know better, and I am back for the Twelve Steps. What else is different this time? I can … Read More
Carried to My Clinic This year, I decided to donate a subscription of Lifeline to my health clinic. Last year, most of our groups each donated a subscription to various health care offices in our areas, and I thought I could do the same as an individual. So I contacted my health clinic, and the clinic staff were very welcoming and appreciative. They gave me a … Read More
