Step 3 Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God

"The Third Step is a turning point." Sex Addicts Anonymous pg 28 "Taking the Third Step means acting on our belief that a Higher Power can relieve our addiction and restore us to sanity. We loosen the grip on our old destructive patterns, perhaps not knowing yet what will replace them, but in the faith that something better will be revealed. When we surrender our old way of living to a Power greater than ourselves, we don't always know where we are going, but we can be sure that it will be better than where we were." Sex Addicts Anonymous pg 29
Often, we are faced with the fact that recovery does not match our expectation of how it should be. When we ask for help, we do not get the help we think we should get. How am I starting to let go of my emotional demands of how things should be working - including recovery?

"What does it mean to turn over our will and our lives. We can think of 'our will' as our plans and intentions -- what we want to do with our lives." Sex Addicts Anonymous pg 29
Often, we come into the program wanting to have "our old lives" back; where we could make plans, push ourselves and others, and not be aware of the consequences. Instead of getting those old lives back, we are faced with making changes to how we live.
"We can think of 'our lives' as the carrying out of our intentions -- the full scope of everything we actually do, think, and say." Sex Addicts Anonymous pg 29 "In Step Three, we let a power greater than ourselves guide our daily decisions, opening ourselves to the possibility that we may not know what is best for us, and letting go of the belief in our own power to manage our lives." Sex Addicts Anonymous pg 29
How am I learning to let my plans for today be changed?

"In so doing, we find that God's care applies not only to becoming abstinent from addictive sexual behaviors, but to the entire course of our daily lives and to every aspect of our existence." Sex Addicts Anonymous pg 29
How am I finding that when I bring my struggles with my addiction to my sponsor or to the group, I hear suggestions for changing other parts of my life?

As I am learning to listen to the direction of the other members of the group, how has the strength of my addiction diminished?

"The Third Step invites us to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, not the control of God. We are not abandoning ourselves to the direction of some powerful taskmaster forcing us to do things that are not of our own choosing. Instead, we become open to making new choices for ourselves in the light of a Higher Power's transforming love and care." Sex Addicts Anonymous pg 29
How am I finding that when I am faced with struggles, the group is far more accepting of those struggles and caring for me than my addiction ever was?

"With small, but significant actions, we can work Step Three by establishing a commitment to the program. For example, many of us decide to make going to meetings a priority, and schedule them into our lives regardless of the circumstances. We commit to attending, whether or not we feel like going." Sex Addicts Anonymous pg 30
How am I showing that I am "making a decision to turn my will and my life over"? What commitments to continuing in recovery am I making?





How is my living of Step 2 (coming to believe that a power outside of myself will restore me to sanity) pointing me to working Step Three?

There are two parts to turning my will over to the care of a higher power, the parts I say "No." to and the parts I say "Yes." to. In recovery, we say "No." to parts of our prior life in order to have the room to say "Yes." to the life that we want for ourselves.
What aspects of my prior life am I finding I need to say "No." to in order to continue with recovery?





What beneficial behaviors, actions, hobbies, and sexuality am I finding that I now have time, energy, and capability to explore that I did not have prior to recovery?