I recently finished knitting a hat for my sponsor. It’s a “dancing ladies hat,” an old Norwegian pattern with ladies kicking up their heels as they make a circle. They make me think of our meetings, learning the Steps, and finding joy in OA unity. Knitting is my meditation. I do a bit every day, and things get finished. During this …

We may be a group of abstinent and recovering compulsive overeaters, but our individual defects seem to be quick to surface when important decisions need to be made, especially decisions that affect our group and meeting format. Thank goodness we have the Traditions to guide us. “Our common welfare should come first,” but Tradition One is hard to follow sometimes …

I had a wonderful experience with some fellow OA members recently. We showed up at our meeting place and could not get in. The door had a timer lock with no key, and it did not open. How is this wonderful? I’m getting to that. We waited ten minutes after the meeting start time, then decided to head to a …

To me, our Responsibility Pledge in OA means more than an arrangement to do something. In Spanish, the word ‘compromiso’ (commitment) can also mean ‘pledge’ or ‘token.’ A pledge is a thing that is given as security, a guarantee of completion; it is liable to forfeiture in any case of non-completion. From OA, I received an awareness of abstinence and …

In a dictionary, “family” can be defined in several ways: people occupying the same house, relatives, a tribe or clan, or a group sharing common features. Metaphorically speaking, we all belong to the “House of OA.” We all are related through the disease of compulsive eating. A thesaurus may compare “family” to a fellowship or group that is close, friendly, …

When I was new to recovery, I would call my sponsor and complain about circumstances and how hard it was to stay abstinent. My sponsor would suggest that I get a bigger God. It took me a while to really understand what she meant; I believed in God, but realized I wasn’t able to trust him. Through working the Steps, …

I came into OA twenty-nine years ago, weighing over 171 pounds (78 kg). I had stopped weighing three months before, but I was wearing a size 20–22. (Today I wear a size 6–8.) My world was very small, but as I got involved with service in the program, I heard that OA was worldwide. The World Service Conventions have been a great part …

First of all, service is slimming! Giving service offers me opportunities to give back what was so freely given to me. I don’t have to pay my sponsor; I simply get to follow some really good orderly direction. These things are all service: making coffee; moving chairs; cleaning the rooms; giving rides; reading at meetings; sponsoring; serving as treasurer or …

Disparate yet one. Broken, but being made whole in the telling. Huddled around the campfire of our hearts. Finding a commonality, finding healing, finding wholeness. Warmed by interest, trust, and safety— our dreams and foibles uncovered. Winners and survivors despite our shortcomings. Diamonds in the rough sparkle as facets are revealed to the sun of understanding, identification, respect, and admiration. …

When I first came to the program of Overeaters Anonymous, I found out I wasn’t alone; there were lots of people who had the same disease that I had. What a relief! I no longer had to attempt to do this on my own, and I was offered the hope of recovery. As I became aware of the diversity of …