~ FAMILY ~
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Call it a clan, call it a network, call
it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever
you call it, whoever you are, you need
one.
Jane Howard (from the book "The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude" by Sarah Ban Breathnach)
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As an only child of parents who
immigrated and left their own families
behind, I have always felt that I was
missing out on the great wealth of
sharing and caring that I saw other
people have in their families. That was
before recovery.
Today, I have an extended family -- not
only by marriage -- but by the simple
fact that my Higher Power led me to the
great wealth of caring and sharing that
I have found in perhaps the strangest
place of all -- cyberspace -- in the
form of online recovery loops.
Being prone to isolation, my disease
first led me to seek out others who have
struggled with compulsive overeating,
and that, in turn, led me to my new
'family.' As someone so wonderfully
expressed it to me recently, it's a
"family of choice." What a concept! My
family of choice not only has sisters
and brothers, it also is filled with
mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles --
more than I could ever have dreamed of
before, and each brings into my life
more experience, strength and hope than
I could ever have imagined.
ONE DAY AT A TIME . . .
I thank God that I have found this huge, loving family that constantly offers me hope, inspiration, understanding ... and most of all love.