January 5

“. . . Recovery does not mean that you stop having problems. Rather, you get to have problems that are not sexual ones.”

Sex Addicts Anonymous, page 113

When I was acting out and life got difficult, I turned to my addiction as a cure for ills I literally didn’t know I had. It never worked. When I was done acting out, my problems were still there, sometimes compounded by my acting out.

When I entered the program, the biggest problem I had was my addiction. Becoming sober was a big deal. After a while, I learned to rely on spiritual practices instead of a sexual high. I also came to believe that no matter how difficult a situation, my Higher Power was there for me.

Once the practices to maintain my sobriety were well established, other problems that I hadn’t dealt with came to the forefront. I began to deal with the truth about my finances and got a job after eighteen years of self-employment. And when I had trouble finding a suit in my size, I realized it was time to lose some weight. It’s not that I didn’t have these problems before, it’s just that acting out and then getting sober took my focus away from them. Now that I have sobriety, I can finally take care of myself in other ways.

Today I am grateful for the problems in my life. They seem to be a form of fierce grace, designed to grow my acceptance, accountability, and serenity. Every time I choose spiritual principles, my sobriety grows.

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No matter how difficult a situation, my Higher Power is there for me.