I came into the rooms of CoDA raising a white flag of surrender and desperate for help. I had lost my God, my Soul and Me. I wanted a new life and I had grown sick and tired of the old ways that no longer worked for me. I finally came to believe that change is possible if I looked for it in the rooms of CoDA and by working the 12 Steps. I saw others who discarded old, self-defeating life styles and were happy, joyous and free. I wanted what you had but I didn’t know how to get it. You told me, “Keep Coming Back” be patient, and “Listen and Learn” so that I could learn lessons from those that have walked this path before me. You told me to “Let Go and Let God” of my attempts to control people, places and things.

I was too new to CoDA and too overwhelmed by my circumstances to recall one of the many CoDA principles that may apply to my desperate situation. I soon discovered that when I did not know what to do, a simple slogan would put the entire situation into a proper perspective. They were easy to learn and remember when coping with a variety of upsetting circumstances. I printed the slogans on paper and posted them at my CoDA meetings, my workplace and in my house. I loved the slogans and I would repeat “Let Go and Let God” and “One Day At A Time” again and again. “Think” reminded me to wait. I don’t have to do anything I’m not ready to do. I learned that it is easier to avoid giving advice when practicing “Live and Let Live.” I learned I can deal with my fear s by living today, “One Day At A Time.” I learned that I could look at what I can do “Just for Today” and let that be enough for now. I know today that CoDA is in the hands of our Higher Power, not of any one person, and that you only expect “Progress for me and Not Perfection.” The slogans were my lifesavers. They were my handrail to the Steps. Today I know that the 12 Steps are the solution to all my problems and the answer to have peace, harmony and serenity in my life.

Reciting the Serenity Prayer taught me to “accept the things I cannot change.” It reminds me I am not alone and to ask my Higher Power for serenity, courage and wisdom. It helped me to reconnect to my Higher Power who today is my loving, caring father that I had lost.

I am forever grateful for the CoDA Fellowship and this amazing program of recovery where I did find My God, My Soul, and Me.

Judy O. - 6/2 – A Grateful Recovering Codependent

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