STEP TWO

April 21, from “Strengthening My Recovery” daily reader

“One purpose of Step Two is to introduce the idea of keeping an open mind on the possibility of a Higher Power who can restore sanity.” BRB p.107

“For many of us, the wounds are deep when it comes to trusting anyone, especially a Higher Power that is often referred to as God. We have a history of feeling deeply disappointed by most of the people and resources in our lives, including the God we were taught to believe in and pray to.

As a result, when some people in our meetings refer to their Higher Power as God, we have trouble identifying with them, or maybe even accepting that such a concept is real. But Step Two is meant to show us that we have a support system available to us; that we have different options besides going it alone. We can find a Higher Power to help us, and that Higher Power can be whatever we want it to be. There are no rules. However, if we are going to recover from our childhood dysfunction, we are going to have to learn to trust someone or something to help us.

On this day I will learn to trust that I have a Higher Power willing to help me. It may be the group, it may be a feeling of calmness when I experience nature, or a traditional God of my understanding. It’s entirely up to me.”

My Experience:

Since I grew up to understand that God was punishing and that you had to please him in order to get into heaven, this one was tough to stomach.  It was tough until I realized that it was a Higher Power of my understanding.  I could choose my Higher Power to be anything I wanted it to be.  So I chose a kind, loving, benevolent Higher Power that would always embrace me, allow me to cry, helped me to see that I could not handle everything and take on those things that I could not handle.  What a relief.

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