I came to OA because I was sick and tired of compulsive overeating and I was grossly obese. Nothing had worked for the long haul and here I was told the nature of my disease and that there was a solution to a problem that had plagued me my entire life.
I was told that I had to find a Higher Power that would solve my problems. Hmmm, I thought, that should be easy. Having a clergyman, as a father and being a church musician and deeply immersed in the theology of my faith, I thought this would be a cake walk.
In the early stages of my recovery, I did the perfunctory prayers and meditations, and it was smooth sailing for a while. Eventually, I began to struggle with my food and weight. “What was wrong?” I asked God for help each morning, but it wasn’t working.
Alas, the fear of another relapse and a 100 lb weight gain (from the other one I’d had) gave me the gift of desperation. I began a serious study of the basic text, that stated on page 45, “Lack of power, that was our dilemma.” We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves. Obviously. But where and how were we to find this Power? Well, that’s exactly what this book is about. Its main object is to enable you to find a Power greater than yourself which will solve “ALL YOUR PROBLEMS.”
So, I had to reflect on my Higher Power and acknowledge that it was the one given to me as a child. The God of my Sunday School, the God of the sermons I heard attending church, and not simply a God of my understanding. My disease forced me to let go of childish notions and to begin to seek, as I continue to do, a relationship with a God of my understanding. I did not have a personal relationship with the God of my youth. I respected and feared God, but HE had no utility in my life. He was just there watching and recording my bad deeds and to be worshipped on Sunday and special days.
As I have found a God of my understanding, many of my religious tenets I have re-embraced as they have personal meaning to me today. I have a personal relationship with my Higher Power that is ever-evolving and My God (FATHER/MOTHER GOD) helps me in all facets of my life. I have not abandoned the faith of my youth, for I love the music and the sense of community I feel there. But my relationship with God is personal and irrespective of any religious dogma. I can truly say, I found GOD in OA.
— Nancy R.