Dear Friends in Recovery,

My name is Mari. I am a gratefully recovering compulsive overeater. I appreciate your letting me share my Journey to Recovery with you today.

Yesterday I told you about the days when I was "Queen of the Universe" and "Ruler of the World." I wrote about taking the first step ... "We admitted we were powerless over our addiction ... that our lives had become unmanageable." And I ended my journal with these words:

"IF I wasn't going to continue being "Queen of the World" .... IF I was "powerless" ... IF my life was unmanageable .... how was I going to be able to survive? Who was going to restore me to sanity?"

And today's quote begins to answer that question. The second step of any 12-step recovery group tells us that a "Power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity." It doesn't say Jesus .... or God .... or Nature ... or Buddha .... or any other traditional "powers." It simply says a "Power greater than ourselves."

Compulsive illness is a killer. We reach a bottom in this illness ... and I don't care WHAT your compulsion happens to be. Sooner or later, in my opinion, we are all going to reach a point that we KNOW we are not going to be able to "handle this" alone. It's going to take every force in the Universe. It's going to take holding one another's hand, taking it one day at a time, acting "as if" until we "get it," working the steps, using the tools and, my friends, it's going to absolutely, positively take falling down on our knees, admitting that we are powerless and saying, perhaps with tears streaming down our face, to that "Power" greater than ourselves that WE GIVE UP!!!!!!!! That we cannot do it alone. That we need help. That we are not able to go on like this.

Cautiously .... timidly .... untrustingly, perhaps, ..... we begin to "turn it over." We reach out to that enigma that some of us call God .... and we feel suddenly that everything we've ever worried about has been lifted from our very souls. And when that happens, my friends, we have taken that beautiful Second Step ....... and ready to move on to the third.