I Was Denied Weight-Loss Surgery. I Was Skeptical about OA, but Now I Have Hope, Health, and Happiness
Here I was at my rock bottom, and I didn’t feel I had any other choice.
Readings
Never and Always
“I can freely, honestly, and humbly admit that I am powerless over food,” says Carolyn M. When she takes OA’s First Step, it is not in hopeless defeat. Instead it is the beginning of a hopeful and liberating journey with a source of help that “gives me a peace I cannot describe.”
An IDEA Once Planted
“Through nurturing both a small plant gifted in celebration of abstinence and my OA program, I’ve learned that with care, patience, and renewed enthusiasm, growth and beauty can always be rediscovered—even after 9,190 days.”
Step Seven Save
”I struggle so much with the character defect of pride,” says one OA member, “and I find the antidote in the Principle of Step Seven: humility.”
Mopping Up Mistakes
Dorothy cheated her employers to the tune of thousands of dollars, and she was hopeless to pay back such a large sum. But her sponsor encouraged her, she became willing, and Higher Power responded in kind.
Who’s In Charge? All of Us
“We are all in charge of our own side of the street and our own programs,” says one OA member, who remarks how gratifying it is that service body decisions are all based on following our primary purpose: to carry the message of recovery.
If I Want to Keep What I’ve Been Given, I Must Reach Out to Others
Liz B. shares her journey sponsoring and being sponsored and the lesson that comes when sponsors or sponsees lose their abstinence. “I found my way back,” she describes, “thanks to someon who was ‘God with skin on.’”
Good IDEA
“International Day Experiencing Abstinence (IDEA), observed the third Saturday of November, reminds us that abstinence is not only freedom from compulsive eating but also a profound connection to a Higher Power and spiritual balance.”
Honest Effort
Sander did not work Step Nine fully the first time around. But the second time, he learned how Step Nine can remove the guilt and other feelings that had been triggering him to eat.
Tradition Nine: Alive and Well
How do you know if Tradition Nine is being practiced in your group? One OA member offers a number of ways to tell.