For Today: July 15th

The truth shall make you free.

The Bible: John

Do I call an addiction, “a little problem with…..”---a minor inconvenience on a par with measles?  Addiction can kill me.  Perhaps fast, perhaps slowly, but either way the trip is hell.  I can hang onto old ideas: “This time I’ll do it,” “It’ll be different,” “I’ll stop for good.”  Old ideas shun words like fat, drunk, obese, compulsive overeater, alcoholic, addict in favor of gentler, easier words. Words do not change a meaning. I can call the sun and the moon by other words, but they are still what they are.  An addiction is a fact, like my height and coloring.  In recognizing that truth, I am able to admit I am powerless over food, give up my will---and become free.

For Today:  It is not a disgrace or a weakness to admit my powerlessness over food.  That is an idea that has nothing to do with the truth.

Truth is the foundation of OA. Without truth, we shun our disease, we keep it alive & thriving in denial, where we feel ‘safe’ but miserable.

Hiding from the truth doesn’t make it less real; and anesthetizing myself to avoid facing my fears doesn’t make them go away. In fact, when I refuse to face my fears is when I encourage them to worsen.  Nameless though the fears may sometimes be, they accumulate like beads on a necklace when left to fester untreated.

I’m ok with admitting my powerlessness over food; in fact, I am happy to recognize it as a fact. When I first read Step one:  We admitted we were powerless over food --- that our lives had become unmanageable…..I cried.  Finally, there were WORDS to DESCRIBE my plight!!! I got down on my knees right then & thanked God for a program that was meant for ME!

When I fight my disease of compulsive overeating, I keep it alive & I give it power.  My pride stands in the way of the truth, in other words.

When I admit my powerlessness is when I am humbled enough to realize I cannot do this alone.  I am willing to accept the fact that I need a Food Plan to remain abstinent & I am grateful for the willingness to stick TO it, one day at a time.

The truth is: I don't have to 'feel like' staying abstinent today, but I will anyway. I don't have to be happy & jumping for joy to stick to my food plan, I just have to do it anyway. The truth is: I need recovery more than I need to overeat.

For today, I will stay true to my program, whether I feel like it or not. There is sanity in recovery and there is insanity in compulsive overeating.