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Step Two - Hope

Tradition Two - Trust

Step Two - Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

When I heard Step Two read aloud at meetings, it used to bother me. “Restored to sanity?” I thought disbelievingly. “I can’t point to a time when I ever was sane! What sanity is there to restore me to?”

Indeed, I behaved very insanely before I came into program, which was ten years ago when I was 13 pounds (6 kg) heavier than I am now. I used to sneak food and hide wrappers; plan to eat just one, but finish the whole box; and bring home several days’ worth of binge food and eat it all in front of the TV at one sitting.

Also insane were the mental games I’d play. I’d fixate on food at every party and ignore the people attending. I’d deny myself “bad” food for a while, trying to feel “pure.” Then I’d throw self-control out the window and dive in. When I was angry, sad, or upset, I’d drown the feelings in food before I ever had a chance to feel them.

Once I entered OA and started working the Steps, I was sure I didn’t want to be restored to that state. So how could I work Step Two?

Then I remembered another meaning of “restore.” I have friends who bought a house over a hundred years old, and they set about restoring it. Not only did they fix broken stairs and replace missing roof shakes, they did more. They pored over books and catalogs to understand how their house might have been intended to look when it was designed.

They researched paint colors and molding trims. They scoured antique sales to find just the right furniture to go inside. They lovingly hung curtains and found linens to match. They didn’t care whether their house originally had those things; they wanted to make it the best it could be.

This is how God is restoring me. God is not just fixing what’s broken, but lovingly giving me all the comforts and beauty he wanted me to have all along. I’m being restored to a much better state than I’ve ever been before.

— Joan P., Mountain View, California USA

Lifeline - Posted on February 15, 2016

Tradition Two - For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority — a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.

Five or six years ago, I was involved in OA service work within my region. To aid my interactions with the personalities I encountered, I read recovery literature on Tradition Two.

Over time, it slowly occurred to me that this Tradition was inviting me to have a relationship with a loving Higher Power. It came with the awareness that I was still carrying false core beliefs about a punishing, judgmental, demeaning God.

My new awareness from Tradition Two infiltrated my Step Two experience. I came to believe in the good, and my Higher Power restored in me the ability to see the good in every person, place, thing, and situation. If I was unable to see the good, it was not because of the absence of good, but simply a reflection of the limitations of my human thinking.

More recently, I once again dealt with a personality in service work. After many years of practicing spiritual Principles, my reaction was significantly less intense than before. Yet I was having a reaction.

One morning during prayer and meditation, I asked my Higher Power to allow me to see the ways this personality was acting lovingly. My loving Higher Power gently reminded me to see it all as love. What my Higher Power knew, and what was slowly dawning on me, was that I had set up a judgment: I was right and this person was wrong. This judgment was underlying my reactions toward this personality and, thus, our interactions. By seeing it all as love (every aspect of this person’s behavior and not just the parts that I thought were loving), I was able to re-frame the behavior in a new light, which allowed love to flow through. Love truly is the answer!

Thank you for allowing me to share. Love, peace, and blessings to all!

— Atiya M.

LifeLine - Posted on February 15, 2016

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