Faith Can Be Slippery

Written by, Susan C.

I didn’t know what trust was when I got into recovery. I had no faith. Pot had been my higher power for more than 15 years. When people said their higher power was keeping them clean and sober, I was confused. How come I used so much longer than I wanted to? People who had a higher power seemed happy, so I acted as if I had one until one day I didn’t feel alone. It was a slow process to create a relationship with a higher power of my own understanding. If I trust my higher power cares for me, and I have faith that I’m not alone, I can listen to hear my higher power. That is how my higher power can keep me clean and sober: if I listen and stay connected. Once the fog lifted, I now have access to the sunlight of the spirit. I used to think that once I was connected I always would be. But I’ve discovered that faith, like everything else, comes and goes. Now I don’t fret so much when I feel disconnected. I try to remember that I AM always connected to the universal web of life and love. Being human I will forget, and then I’ll remember again. That’s a really good reason to keep coming to meetings.

Published in A New Leaf – March 2026

  • There is Hope for the Doctor in Recovery

    Written by, Anonymous I’m a marijuana addict in recovery, and I am also a physician. I have struggled with my addiction in secrecy for my entire life, with not even my sister knowing the extent of my use. I lived a double life—one where I was a “goody-two-shoes” and “smarty pants” and the other where…

    There is Hope for the Doctor in Recovery
  • Dear Mary Jane,

    Written by, Don S. There was a time when I didn’t think I would ever be writing this. I pretended and wanted to tell myself that this day would never come. When we first got together and for the first couple of years of our relationship, this ending was not on my bingo card. I…

    Dear Mary Jane,
  • The Dream Slayer

    Written by, Bill H. Here is a word that silently destroys more dreams, more relationships, and more personal growth than anything else……that word is trying. Notice what happens in your body when you hear yourself or hear someone else say, I’ll try. There’s a softening, there’s a pulling back, an energetic step away from a…

    The Dream Slayer
  • Heard in a Meeting

    “First it was magic, then it was misery” Published in A New Leaf – July 2026

    Heard in a Meeting
  • What Changed, What Didn’t

    Written by, Aurelie E. There are momentsthat split time in two—before thisand everything after. Loss that knocks the wind out of a life.Grief that teaches the bodynew postures of survival.Love that arrives like a hand on your backwhen you didn’t know you were bending.Joy so clean, it feels borrowed.Kindness that saves you quietlyand never asks to…

    What Changed, What Didn’t
  • Heard in an MA Meeting

    “By respecting myself, my world changes for the better.” Published in A New Leaf – June 2026

    Heard in an MA Meeting