Step Two
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Please share your experience, strength, and hope as it relates to Step 2. The opinions expressed here are strictly those of the person who gave them. Take what you liked and leave the rest. Member sharing on the Member Blog may be used in future Al‑Anon publications.
Today, at this moment I have serenity and peace. I know that with the decision I have made today to believe that I could be restored to sanity gives me hope and love and kindness to myself and the loved ones that can be so hard to love when they are in their disease. I didn’t cause my Mom’s alcoholism, I certainty can’t control it, or change it. Today, I have choices. Today, I pray for her and for myself, for recovery to carry the message and show me how to live.
I want to share how happy I am that I have stuck out my negativity until my Higher Power and my group could see me through. After many years, I was ready to give up on Al-Anon. I had ups and downs and after years of recovery I was losing it again. I tried to keep practicing my program but I had lost the will. I found some outside help because Al-Anon encouraged us to reach out when we need it. I also have been an advocate on keeping our small meeting live. It has been a struggle in the… Read more »
I have started to see the program as a power greater than myself. A power that I trust. When I learn about the many aspects of the program I’m always amazed. When I talk to members who have done a lot of service, about the structure of the program, how it works as a whole and has continued successfully for so many decades, I feel confident this is a power I can trust. I have been to so many meetings in different cities, and online in different countries. I have always grown and been uplifted by my time spent in… Read more »
Step Two opened for me a world of discovery when I came to program, as I had lost faith in the punishing God of my childhood. I rediscovered a Higher Power that would not punish me, but would help me be a better person. There was hope for me to live in some sanity, which had been foreign to me for years. I loved it when I heard “Came”, “Came to” and “Came to believe” as this was what I needed. I needed first to come to the meetings and just attend without demands. With time “I came to” my… Read more »
The freedom within Al-Anon offers me my own personal understanding of my Higher Power. This is the key in surrendering my ego. I can let go of my childhood’s understanding that God was always watching me, and was angered by my incapability to live accordingly to religious standards. I gave up trying and I stopped attending. Step 2 makes it possible for me to believe in a Power greater than myself. I no longer need to fear an angry God with impossible standards to live by. I can now begin to look at myself openly and honestly without fear and… Read more »
My mother-in-law passed away recently as a result of the disease of alcoholism. My hubby also suffers from the disease and is starting to experience health challenges. His mother’s passing has led him not to comply with his doctor’s orders. Nothing I said or any action I took worked. Forcing solutions only left me angry and frustrated. He stopped taking care for himself and was frequently verbally abusive. A family member has taken over his care. I was upset about this at first, but I have no control over another’s behaviors. Watching the people that I love so much destroy… Read more »
When I started in Al-Anon, I had lost faith and any meaningful connection with my Higher Power. Very slowly by attending meetings, listening, and applying Al-Anon’s principles to my life, I could begin to see my Higher Power working in me and with me in everyday situations. I learned that when I aligned myself and my will to my Higher Power’s will for me, I could then expect to grow into the loving person that my Higher Power meant me to be.
When I came to believe that a power greater than me could restore me to sanity, I finally felt relief. I had spent so much time trying to control the uncontrollable and trying to fix everything on my own. The insanity I felt for so long was threatening to destroy me. It was freeing to let it all go and to rely on a power greater than myself. It was the beginning of a peace in my life that I never thought possible.
God is what gives me hope. This Step is one of the most powerful in my eyes. I believe we can’t do life on our own. We need others and I lean on God for strength, hope, faith, and love. I also believe that God would only put us through tough circumstances/experiences to teach us valuable life lessons. I’m learning, sometimes the hard way, but learning.
For me there is no right or wrong way to work through the Steps but reading Step 2 tells me what will happen next. It says “came to believe” which means that it happened already. I interpret that to mean that by working through Step one and attending meetings, by listening to others tell there stories of strength and hope and by seeing the happiness that seems to be in their lives that I will come to believe that there is a power greater than me alone which could restore me and bring sanity to my life. Grateful member
When I look at the words of this Step, I see that I am of worthy, I am of value…I can be restored by a power greater than myself. That power has evolved and I am grateful for the guidance of my Sponsor, who allowed me to grow and evolve that loving spiritual power. I now understand that is not the punishing GOD of my upbringing and I am free to connect with via nature. Today I am grateful that I may choose to connect with Good Orderly Direction daily by reading CAL; walking in nature and lighting a candle… Read more »
I have been focusing on Step One for a few weeks now – accepting “powerless”. I’m not sure when you are ready to move on to the next Step. I consider myself a person of faith and spirituality and Step Two makes sense. I’ve been looking to faith for a long time especially when I knew I had a problem with my husband’s alcoholism. Sometimes I feel like my prayers are not answered and then I blame myself. I’ve been praying for so long, asking for peace in my life. I’ve also just recently been attending Al-Anon on a regular… Read more »
I have had a very flexible and fluid idea of “God” long before coming to this program. The same way I believe a “day” in the creation of the earth could be a million years, I also believe my Higher Power can be a traditional God but can also be many powers that are outside of me: the Al-Anon program, the AA program, the universe, the world of science. So having multiple ideas of a Higher Power makes it easy to feel that in any given circumstance, one of those powers could restore me to sanity. The Step doesn’t say… Read more »
The controlling patterns of my spouse recently came to the surface of my awareness just a few months ago and I reached out to friend who provided affirmation and assurance to me that the way I had been living was no longer tolerable, especially on an emotional level. Through this friendship I began to see how much more support I needed, beyond the friendship. Another person alone wasn’t enough to help me continue on in this journey of needing even more affirmation and assurance. I needed to reestablish my relationship with my Higher Power on a deeper level. To cry… Read more »
A big turning point for me in Step Two was when I realized I had been waiting for my Higher Power to restore all the OTHER people in my life to sanity. My job is to turn them over and focus on me!
Step Two seemed pretty unattractive to me when I first came to the program, as I had lost faith in God and even in human beings. To believe is to feel sure that something exists and I had serious doubts about the existence of this Higher Power. Furthermore, when I read that this Power greater than myself could restore me to sanity, I had serious questions about my insanity. Also, considering that I thought myself an authority in many areas of my life and of yours and that I could make decisions for myself and for you that concept of… Read more »
“I am powerless… and I am free”
I found these simple words in the midst of an hour’s worth of reading this blog. The fewest words, that spoke the most to me. I exhaled. I cried. I understood.
This step is an exercise in relaxing control. So often, I feel hyper-responsible for the feelings of everyone around me. Right now, I’m in a tense situation at work with a co-worker who has suddenly turned cold and will hardly look at me. I don’t know what happened to make this change. Me before Al-Anon would have been in agony all day about what happened and how I can fix this. Me in Al-Anon is going through waves of discomfort, sometimes pain, and sometimes peace. I’m slowly learning that I am not responsible for how others are behaving. I’m only… Read more »
I often forget that Step Two says “could” restore me to sanity, not “would.”
For me, that means Step Two is asking me to believe in possibilities. I can do that. I can believe in possibilities.
Step two has helped me think and act in a more positive way. I learned if I want my life to be different, I have to change. Insanity was putting my life on hold until other family members changed. I missed so much by doing this. I ask my HP daily to guide me to do his will. I am happy most of the time. I have hobbies, friends and opportunities for growth keep popping up.