Thank you for sharing your challenges. The thing is we all have challenges of one sort or another.

Step Two uses the word "came" that to me means a journey. You are on YOUR journey.
I invite you to take the Step and the language one word or phrase at a time and journal on its meaning for you.

Let's see what you come up with...just don't rush the process.

Thank you for your comments, Bubbles. I think I am way too caught up in my ideas of God from childhood. I think that my real and true understanding of a higher power might not be what others understand it to be. And maybe that's okay. After all, how can I work with the idea of a higher power of someone else's understanding? Obviously it needs to be a higher power that I can understand and work with. All too often I just can not grasp other people's idea of a higher power.

Step Two: Came to believe a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

The words "came to believe" indicate to me that belief is a something that doesn't just arrive on my doorstep or that I can understand immediately. It takes time to believe and trust someting greater than ourselves perhaps because we live in a "can do" society - how many times does one hear a young child say "I can do it" and the adult knows the child can't or will struggle but the adult steps back and allows the child to try and struggle - our higher power waits till we realise we can't do it alone and turn to that higher power.. My belief journey has been a long, winding and bumpy one but thirty years on I have come to believe in a power greater than myself and it comforts me that Im not alone in this world and can lean on and trust in that power. Only something greater than me could help me certainly not the same as me cos that would be useless as Im useless i curbing my overeating and sometimes a greater power is comforting and I can rest in it not having to know all the answers and be the strong one. That greater power is sanity for me as all the problems in my day and life fall away when Im with my greater power. I don't think there is too much "doing" in this step just a simple acknowledgement we are not alone and we can rest and just be in our greater power whatever that power is.

Thank you Laraine. Your comments are very helpful. I never thought of this step as not being one of a lot of action, but more of an acknowledgement like you said. I guess I am still in a mode of thinking that says I have to do everything myself. I think that's one of the reasons I have been struggling with this step.

Glad you found my comments helpful. Bubbles taught me that when I had a problem with a step to look up the meaning of each word even words that I knew the meaning of cos the dictionary can often shows us a alternate meaninng or a clearer one. And of course looking up words is so easy on line!

When I wrote my reply (above) I felt that belief was not something that could be arrived at instantly but would "take time" and that it was a "journey". Now I've looked up the word "came" and found one of the meanings is to "travel towards" - travelling towards anything takes time so give yourself time and while you are on your journey to belief accept for now that it is possible to believe.

Thanks Laraine, I'm working with someone who's struggling with this step..I like that idea, and I'll have to share it with here. I felt a lot of what you're saying Heidi, but over time my negative thinking has changed, in every area of my life because of the 12 steps.

I too want to thank you Laraine for your post regarding Step Two. Happy to be on the journey with you all.

No Bubbles I need to thank you for sharing your journey with me (I can only speak for myself!) and I'm so grateful for your wise guidance and unfailing support here xoxoxo.

I second that Laraine. Because of Bubbles and the encouragement and wisdom she gave me, I was able to go to a face to face meeting. I've now lost over 35 pounds and have met some nice friends. Three of us are going walking after tomorrow mornings meeting, having a healthy lunch and going to see "Les Miserables". I would never be doing this before OA! walking in 10* weather, having an abstinent lunch and going to the movies with a few ladies who love me unconditionally! a miracle of this program!

Thats so great Lucy!

Sometimes I forget to check back here to see all of the wonderful comments that people have shared with me and with each other. Wow, I see that I posed this just a month ago and already I feel like I am in a better space with this step. The way that all of you are describing this process of "coming to believe" really makes sense to me. It tells me that my faith and understanding don't have to be perfect and that I can be where I am at with this step and that that's okay. I realize that I am very hard on myself and need to let go of the shame, guilt, blame,fear and other stuff that separates me from others and from my higher power. I am grateful for this awareness.

I'm so happy for you lucylui. One Day at a Time results in miracles.