“We made a decision to have faith and began putting our trust in a power greater than ourselves.”

– Life with Hope, first edition, page 12

When I first came into MA and realized there was the “God” word in the Steps, I really thought about getting up and walking out. It didn’t take long before I realized that a lot of other folks in the meetings had a problem with that too. It wasn’t that God; it was as I understand God. It could be my own understanding! The words “Higher Power” were meaningful to me. I appreciated that concept. I also liked that the gender was taken out of God. It was not God—He; maybe it was God—She; maybe it was God—It. It was as I understood God. It was a power greater than myself. For the first few years, the meetings and MA members were my Higher Power. We could do something together that I could not do alone. I’d tried too long.

As the years have gone by, my concept of God, Creator, Higher Power has had many definitions and/or concepts, and a great realization has come to me: I don’t have to understand God! How could I? I am a small human on a small planet, in a small solar system, in an ordinary galaxy in a huge universe. When I see pictures of our galaxy, or nebulas, or other galaxies, I say, “There. That’s God.” Some small part of that huge God is what I think of as a loving, caring, parental God, who wants me to be a loving, caring person. That part of God, my part of God, wants me to be happy, loving, and serene; and that’s the God I pray to. What are my prayers? There are really only two: “Help me, Help me, Help me,” and “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.”

Final thought: Trusting my Higher Power cleared the way for my growth and recovery.