“Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”

 

– Step Two, The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous

 

I didn’t realise how much of a fog food had me in until I came to the OA programme. I was living from bite to bite and couldn’t see the forest for the trees. Fear and resentment stewed in me. I dwelled in self-pity and relished playing the victim.

 

Just over 4 years ago, I was introduced to my first 12-Step programme and fellowship. It did wonders for my spirit, for my attitude, and for my emotional wellbeing. Although that 12-Step fellowship helped me to put down other harmful behaviours. I couldn’t get out of the food.

 

I came into OA with a Higher Power of my own understanding. I choose to call it, God. Relying on God helped me to approach life differently and to practise Honesty, Open-mindedness, and Willingness, like I had never experienced before. In OA, I learned that God could do more than help me with the aspects of my life I thought deserved his attention, like my health, relationships, family, defects etc. I learned that he could help me with my food, if I let him.

 

Step 2 is where I realised that I had limited my idea of a Higher Power by only inviting him into certain areas of my life, and holding back my insanity with food. I started to practice believing that he could restore me to sanity in terms of food by taking actions and providing channels that enabled him to speak to me. I’ll give you an example:

 

By writing about a resentment towards someone and discussing it with my food sponsor, I give God the opportunity to speak through my sponsor and speak to me through our reflection. I practise open-mindedness by being open to other ideas and perspectives. By putting this into action, I believe that he can restore me to sanity.

 

The beautiful thing about this step is that it is a process. My journey in defining my Higher Power continues and as my relationship with him deepens, I continue to grow.

 

– FM, COE from Johannesburg, South Africa

For an insightful share on Step Two, follow this link.