May 2

“Recovery from sex addiction rarely happens overnight. It takes patience—a quality often in short supply for us.”

Tools of Recovery, page 11

Of all the useful slogans I’ve learned in SAA recovery, “One Day At A Time” has been both the most useful and the most difficult one for me to apply to my life.

When, at the age of 66, I finally became aware that I had been a sex addict for most of my life, I was eager to get as far into my recovery as soon as possible. Nothing was going to hold me back.

But then the reality of Step One pulled me up short—I really had to struggle to accept my powerlessness and unmanageability. Days and weeks went by as I read, prayed, meditated, attended meetings, and met with my sponsor. Fortunately, my sponsor set the pace, held me accountable, and wouldn’t let me rush through Step One or the steps that followed.

I came to accept my powerlessness, and with that acceptance, the realization that my recovery was a daily, if not hourly, task. Each day I must recommit to every aspect of my recovery. In matters of recovery, tomorrow doesn’t exist. Living one day at a time is a challenge for me, but my recovery depends on my learning to be patient.

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Today is the only day that matters to my recovery. Help me to make it a good one.