Readings

Voices of Recovery: "If abstinence is not first, I will lose it. Everything that interferes with it must go." OA 2nd edition p. 171 "When I read this idea, I often bristle. Wait a minute, I think, God has put many roles in my life. I'm a wife, mother, sister, friend, employee. I have a home to run, family to coordinate, job to manage. Surely, it is God's will for me that I use my energy, time, and talents to fulfill these obligations. if I put abstinence first, it could be at the expense of some other important activity. If I pray and meditate in the morning, my children will have to fix their own breakfasts. If I go to a noon meeting, I won't be able to run an office errand during my lunch break. If I take the time after work to call my sponsor and take calls from my sponsorees, my husband may need to start dinner. I have come to realize over my years in program that if i don't do these activities that support and maintain my abstinence, I may lose my abstinence. If that happens, I will become the pitiful, unattractive, unhappy person I was before coming to OA. My loving family and friends remember that person and willingly share tasks that free me to do those program activities that maintain my abstinence. We all like the new me better than the old me. God bless them and me as I continue to make abstinence the most important thing in my life. Without abstinence, I have no life. --