God

[foodgurl]

I have noticed that many people on this site are very religious. I also noticed that OA heavily relies on the power to seek help and love from god. I was raised as a catholic however haven't been to church in a looooooooooong tiem and don't really look for guidance from god unless there is a death in the family or something exceptionally crazy like that. Have you found that the love you receive from god really helps you to overcome your eating disorder???

[best]

Yes


When I reach a point that I understand I can't do it alone. All that I have tried.... doesn't work. I came to realize that with God's promise that he gives all who ask, I am able to do many things that I know I can't do alone, of my own strength.

When I am weak, he is strong.

Not just food, but in all areas of my life, I find he helps, when I ask.

[Nina Kay]

Oh yes, God is my everything. I would not want to go through one day of my life without Him.

[bikerbabe]

Whom I choose to call God. Do you have the "Big Book" of OA? Here is how it happened for me. Getting sober and well is not easy. However, when I followed the advice of fellow other sick people - go to meetings, get a sponser, work the steps, something miraculous happened. They talk in the big book about a spiritual experience which is necessary in order to recover. Not always a burning bush (krap, I hope not) but a sort of awakening, a God -consciousness.

Getting the God thing can turn people off. Some people do not believe in the person I choose to call God because they just can't. You can choose the God of your choice. The real meaning is a higher power (other than you) who can restore you to sanity. It can even be a Christmas ornament (for now) if you are not ready to call your higher power God.

Hubby is recovering catholic. He believes in a sort of combination higher power - something spiritual, maybe not God. There is a difference between organized religion and spirituality. When it happens, you will know. Mine was so profound that I could not deny the existence of God. When you work the steps, whether you like it or not, it happens. Step 1 leads to step 2. Then, step 3. Step one: Admitted that we are powerless over food and that our lives had become unmanageable. Step two: Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Step three: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him. Thats all you have to do. Make a decision.

Some say fake it until you make it. It will happen - like a sort of osmosis. All you have to do is be willing.

bb

[sugarssweetpea]

Yes. I cannot imagine my life without Him. I have tried to live my life on my own terms, & it just does not work. When I do not have time with Him, even my mood is different. He gives me the strength to do anything. I find that the times that I overeat is the times that I choose not to pray over my food choice. If I am having a craving & I ask God to take it away, He does. Sometimes it comes back, but then I need to go back into prayer. God wants us to rely on us, not on ourselves. We are His children & He is here to take care of us. Just like we are to take care of our little ones.

I was raised Catholic too. I now do not have a religion. I am simply a Christian. I do not see Christianity as a religion, but as a way of life. It is living your life to be as much like Jesus Christ as is humanly possible. Living life on His terms, not mine. Please send me a private message if you want to talk more.

[Pony]

BB-"Hubby is a recovering Catholic"....LMAO That was too funny !!

I also was raised Catholic, even went through Catholic school....all 12 years!!! I am in a place now that agrees with much of what BikerBabe and Sweetpea were saying about a spirituality. Religion is a man made organization to help people learn and live and follow in whatever that particular sect believes in. I don't believe that any one specific religion is the absolute right one with all the answers. Being spiritual in believing in something higher that any one human who is all knowing, all powerful, and in control of all life. I look around at what I see in nature and the miracles of life and living and know that there is something that I choose to call God. When I connect with that I do feel a sort of peace and things tend to make sense. But I usually find it when I am hiking up in nature or looking out over the ocean and feeling the enormous power of creation, then I know that He is watching over me and I will be ok.

[gratefulgal]

Religion and spiritually are two totally different things. I am not religious - I have a relationship with God. I heard someone say once that religion is for people who are afraid of going to hell and spirituality is for people who have been there.

[foodgurl]

I accidentally sent that before finishing, but it's definitely amazing how you all find the support, guidance and love that you need to get through life from God. For me, he's someone that's always been there, but again, he's the person that I pray to when my grandmother passed away, i prayed to him to take care of her. Or when I get worried about a friend or family member driving in a storm, I pray to god to keep them safe. I have never thought of praying to God to give ME the strength to do something, it's always praying to him to give somebody else the luck to be alright or the stregth to be ok...... that is how I have always handled things. I do find it amazing to reach for him for help in personal strength, I will try to do so on a more spiritual level because I feel I have already been to hell. Very insightful gratefulgal