CoDA Weekly Reading

 CoDA Changed EVERYTHING

After experiencing 13 incredible years of 12 step recovery, I somehow hit a wall. I had witnessed miraculous changes in myself and so many others! Every morning I woke up sober and grateful. Though I did my best to stay in ‘the middle’ of the program, with hefty portions of meetings, service, and sponsorship. I struggled to be authentic. to drop the mask of smiles and perfection that I had been wearing my entire life. I stayed sober, but constantly formed new obsessive attachments - sugar, shopping, exercise, busyness, even recovery.

Less than a year ago, God directed me to CoDA. There, with the help of a sponsor and a weekly step meeting, I discovered that my ‘addictions’ were but a symptom of unresolved codependency. I was able to realize that most of my character defects were methods of survival that may have worked as a kid, but were no longer serving me. They were preventing me from loving and forgiving myself. They were preventing me from authenticity without fear. They were preventing me from appreciating others without manipulation and constant ‘correction’.  They were preventing me from truly living and being the person that God intended me to be.

CoDA is changing my outlook by giving me the eyes to see the destructiveness of my old patterns, and the myriad of healthy alternatives. As a result, I am embracing my humanity and imperfection in a joyful, hopeful, and often hilarious way with a room full of fellows that I have come to love. I am home.

Peggy D.

08/04/2026