What is a spiritual awakening in our S-Anon program? it is the ability to do, feel and believe, through God’s power, that which a person could not do before with his or her own power. We have awakened to a concept of a loving God in our lives. This spiritual awakening is a gift that raises us to a higher level of awareness and gives us hope. We truly have been changed. We have received the grace of God, which simply means “a free gift.” We find ourselves experiencing a degree of honesty, tolerance, unselfishness, serenity and love which seemed so hard to reach before recovery. We receive the precious gift of serenity by practicing the Twelve Steps. Beginners who doubt themselves and their ability to progress can be viewed objectively by the rest of the group as we see the positive changes taking place in their lives. The person who claims that he or she does not understand the “spiritual angle” can predictably come to have conscious contact with God. “Freely you have received, now freely give …” is the motto of Step Twelve. Even the newcomer finds a rewarding experience in carrying the message to others who want the help of S-Anon. Although our own characters are still in need of much work, we have been greatly helped by encouraging others to find recovery, new purpose and meaning in life. We are seeing the lives of men and women who share our message change from darkness to light and from despair to hope. We can help others who are suffering from the effects of sexaholism better than anyone else can.
Reprinted from S-Anon Twelve Steps, pages 143-144.