Skye’s No-Limit
When Anonymous asked God to help curb her impulse purchases, a homeless woman named Skye showed up and provided an opportunity to shop charitably and make a living amend
Readings
Imagine If
We can better appreciate Tradition Nine by imagining if OA was organized by VIPs and from the top down.
Speed Dating for Sponsors
What happens when you apply a “speed dating” format to match up OA sponsors with sponsees? Only good things, as Christine from New Zealand describes from her experience at an OA retreat.
Light Wash
“A glass that looks so clean when out of the bright light can actually be very dirty,” notes Paulette. When she agrees reluctantly in to be held up to the light, she says “It is shocking to see me as I really am . . . . but now I know what to do about it.” The answer is in the Seventh Step.
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.
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.”