Recovery Meditations: November 20th

~ PATIENCE ~

Patience is the key to paradise.

Turkish proverb


I used to be the queen of the "quick fix." Anything I wanted done had to be done today, if not yesterday. I'd even do a job myself because I couldn't wait for someone else to do it in their time. I ended up chasing my tail most days, and trying to run the show myself, simply because I couldn't wait. Even all the many diets that I went on had to get results fast or they weren't worth their salt. Small wonder, being the compulsive person that I was, that when I wanted to eat, there was no such thing in my vocabulary as delayed gratification. When I wanted it, I had to have it right then.

Imagine my horror at coming into the program and seeing that people who had been in the fellowship for years were still there. Surely they should have gotten it right by now and graduated from this program. But I soon learned that this is not something we graduate from. Recovery and abstinence happen in God's time, not mine. I've had to learn that this a journey. Progress can sometimes be painfully slow, but the rewards for those who wait for the miracle is a gift I wouldn't want to be without. Not only am I offered freedom from compulsive eating, but also sanity and serenity to live my life the way I was intended to do.

One Day at a Time . . .
Even when progress seems slow, I will keep coming back and working the program to the best of my ability, knowing that recovery will come to me if I wait.

~ Sharon S. ~

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Hurry up & wait.............the compulsive overeaters mantra! We want what we want & we want it NOW!

 

One of the biggest complaints I hear about OA meetings is that the members are still fat! Why don't they 'get it'?  Recovery can be a slow process.  COEs can attend meetings for years & still struggle with overeating..............it's the gift that keeps on giving.  Abstinence can be difficult to find and maintain, and weight loss THROUGH abstinence can take a very long time.  Which is why we tend to look for more 'quick-fix' diets and drastic means to lose weight. COEs have been known to go to extremes............starvation diets, fasts, surgeries...........we've tried all the schemes and still find ourselves controlled by a disease that gets progressively WORSE instead of better!

 

Patience is developed slowly and is key to success with Recovery.  It doesn't come naturally, but must be cultivated over time.  Progress can be painfully slow.  We shouldn't judge overweight people as not having found Recovery.............many HAVE, but the results are not immediately noticeable.

 

For today, I pray to develop patience & get better at the art of waiting.