“I though God had forgotten me in my relapse,” says Hafeze from Gilan, Iran. She later realized that God was simply waiting for her to ask for help. When she came back to OA, she was blessed with a better understanding of the disease and how to find recovery.
Jacki shares a writing exercise placing a help wanted ad for her personal Higher Power. In OA, we need a Power that is greater than our problem with food, and we get to choose for ourselves the nature of this Higher Power.
Can you find recovery from compulsive eating later in life? Nancy from Texas USA came back in her mid 60s after 30 years of relapse with compulsive eating. “That first meeting when I returned to OA was a ‘God moment’ for me,” she says, “and I’ve had many more God moments since.”
What does it feel like to be willing? It might feel so good that you can’t help but pray “make it stay forever . . . just for today.”
Mary was very excited about her trip to Italy, but she had also became very anxious about it’s world-famous food culture, a prime attraction for tourists. How to manage this? She found simple and powerful answers from her sponsor and OA-approved literature. Her sponsor’s reminder? “I’m pretty sure God is in Italy.”
What does it mean to live life in between mealtimes? Follow the story of this anonymous OA member who describes her day and how even small, mundane activities can reflect back to you your own state of recovery.
Anothony V. from Pennsylvania USA finds a lesson in the pain that comes from emotional pain, whether a slip or relapse back into compulsive eating or childhood trauma. “Today I can thank God for that pain . . .” he says.
Donna from Massachusetts USA has seen just about the worst in terms of the hardships that life can throw at you. Yet in OA, her life has been transformed into one of abundance. “I love the real stuff of this world,” she says. “I appreciate the struggle.”
“I’ve found it helpful—and even necessary—to rewrite the prayers in ways that make them more meaningful to me,” says A.M. who says this helps with his humility and gives him greater strength and hope.
Jacki’s prayerful poem beautifully creates a space for conscious contact with your own Higher Power.