Once you accept the existence of God—however you define Him, however you explain your relationship to Him—then you are caught forever with His presence in the center of all things. – Morris West

“Having our Higher Power as an integral part of how we experience all the hours of a day (whether they hold burdens or blessings) heightens our awareness of the fullness of our life. Believing that God exists for us and in us profoundly changes how we see every aspect of our day.

“A number of us didn’t believe in God when we joined a Twelve Step program. Or if we did, many of us believed in a demanding or punishing God who had no relevance to our daily life. What a difference it makes to let a loving God take charge of our thoughts, attitudes, behaviors, and plans for the future.”

– “In God’s Care*: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery,” June 16
*As We Understand God

I was one of those individuals that didn’t believe in God when I joined a Twelve Step program. I was a devout atheist, and even though I’d suffered with an eating disorder my entire life, it took me five years of being aware of the program before I would be willing to try it out—because I wasn’t going to intentionally go to a place where the word “God” was mentioned and discussed! I didn’t want to be a hypocrite! However, my mind and heart became open and sufficiently willing in March 1990 to attend a meeting; I landed up attending three that day!

When I was a devout atheist, I was drawn to others with the same philosophy. After all, one’s philosophy is our perspective on life and dictates how we live it, how we view the world, people, circumstances, etc. When I ventured into a Twelve Step program for eating disorders, heard and saw the miracles and transformations in individuals, and started practicing the program, I became convinced that God existed and that I could recover from my eating disorder. Believing that God exists profoundly changed how I saw everything! It was like a whole new world for me at the age of 35!

And so just as when I was a devout atheist I gravitated towards being with people who lived according to that outlook on life, when I came to believe in Spirit, I wanted—and continue to want—to be surrounded by people with that similar philosophy of life. It is a life where I place a priority on service, serenity, gratitude, and dependence on a Power greater than myself, no longer having to live life alone.