Traditions Tradition 8: Labor of Love I remember when I was new to OA. I sat with my first sponsor, going over my journaling on Step One. It took quite a bit of t…
Steps Step 8: Admission and Prayer Step Eight asks me to own up to who I am in relation to other people and myself. Working with a sponsor helped. I returned t…
Responsibility Pledge Who, Me? Yes, You. I’m sure I heard the OA Responsibility Pledge at my first meeting fifteen years ago. When I really listened to it a few meet…
Recovery An “I Can” Plan Early in my recovery, I often heard longtimers say, “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.” My first sponsor drove hom…
Relapse Twelfth Step Within Turning It Over I weighed 240 pounds (109 kg) when I first entered OA. Even though I stalked the rooms for two years, calling the hotline, l…
Higher Power Choosing Well I read an article in Lifeline about a person who had a problem she couldn’t fix, so she wrote an article for our magazine, a…
Recovery Re-Call I recently did battle with another disease: shingles. I had so much nerve pain I could not go to meetings, and I felt abando…
Abstinence Using Help “You have cancer!” Those were the first words I heard after coming out of surgery. My first thought was “Oh, good. I can eat…
Fellowship Phone Save When I first walked into the rooms of OA, I never thought I’d still be attending meetings thirty-nine years later. All I was…
Recovery New Presence Just a month before my fifth OA anniversary, my father suffered a massive heart attack and was placed on life support. By th…
How OA Changed My Life Recovery True Freedom When a fellow OA member suggested I reflect on what true freedom looks like for me, I discovered I could probably write a book. Before OA, I truly felt I already had it in the form of a solid career, … Read More
Higher Power Spirituality 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, Am… Read More
The Road Narrows My twenty-ninth birthday in OA is approaching, and it is cause for renewed reflection about my program. I spoke to my sponsor a week ago and mentioned to her that I was thinking of not taking a candle this year. Other OA members on their birthdays pitch about life changes: weddings, kids, jobs, financial gain, or acquisition of cars. I … Read More
Share It: Powerful Shares, Joyful Reading, Pages and Prayers Powerful Shares I wanted to share how sad I am to hear about the discontinuation of Lifeline. It has literally been a lifeline to me. I am one of the ones who answered your 2018 subscription appeal, and I recently renewed my subscription and will cherish every last issue. Thank you for the articles about “The Joys of Retreats and … Read More
Recovery Beyond Measure In a few days, I will celebrate thirty-eight years of recovery in OA. Today my goal is health, sanity, and wellness, not a size 8. Physically, my body has been a normal size for many years. G-d has removed the compulsion for what I call “the hard stuff”—the stuff you see at the grocery checkout counter. I have reached a … Read More