Recovery Relationships Spiritual Nourishment Before I came to OA, I thought I was the most confident 33-year-old out there. I had a great full-time job, a boyfriend, dog, my own apartment, and a car. Yet, I could not stop eating those binge foods. Then, I lost my ability to diet and kept gaining weight. I was a size 26 and had tried everything from diet programs to … Read More
Recovery Relationships Recovery in the Air “So we clean house with the family, asking each morning in meditation that our Creator show us the way of patience, tolerance, kindliness and love” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 83). I walked my daughter down the aisle on Saturday. I was a proud mama! Proud of her for the woman she is and proud of myself for the mom I’ve … Read More
Recovery Working the Program Road to Serenity When I first came to program, I did not understand the first part of the Serenity Prayer: “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.” How could I accept all the wrong things in my life and the universe? Although everyone told me that “accepting” does not mean “liking,” it took a long while to understand this … Read More
Gratitude Recovery Extending Grace It’s funny sometimes how HP and the universe work to give me a sign. On Friday of this week, I went to a meeting and listened to a reading about service. That morning, the entry I’d read in Voices of Recovery was about service. And my sponsor and I had talked about service. Obviously, I needed to spend more time … Read More
Tools & Concepts Thought, Preparing for Action Step Three: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. When I first joined Overeaters Anonymous, the first three Steps annoyed and frustrated me. What were these Steps that could not be proven with any tangible evidence? I wanted to be writing my inventory in Step Four so … Read More
Working the Program Safe Deposit Restaurant meals can be unmanageable even when I order abstinent food. Portions are huge, with side dishes often comprised of multiple carbohydrates. Good self-care requires that I ask for substitutions, so I do. And I always ask servers to bring a take-home box to me along with the food I order. I often have to restate this request again when … Read More
Higher Power Pain Management I was given gifts today, the gifts of patience and acceptance. About a week ago, I threw out my back playing volleyball at a picnic. It was painful, so I took some precautionary measures regarding my recovery, and I made careful choices so I did not overeat. After my meal, I committed to my husband that I would not eat … Read More
