The Last In-Person Meeting
I attended my first in-person meeting since February 21, 2020. Someone there made a serendipitous observation, given all that soon happened.
I can’t think my way through trouble; I have to live through trouble and learn to think.
Who knew?
It was also a serendipitous meeting topic too: Step 12.
“Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.”
Who knew what carrying the message to alcoholics would look like in a time Dr. Bob and Bill W. could not have foreseen.
But, practicing these principles in all my affairs . . . well, that has been both a life-saver in these crazy times, and a faith-tester.
Understanding just how powerless I am over alcohol teaches me how powerless I am over pretty much everything except my side of the street! Practicing the principles that AA suggests — means — I can resign my roles as the helpless co-dependent, manipulating maven, and drama queen.*
If we really depended upon God, we couldn’t very well play God to our fellows nor would we feel the urge wholly to rely on human protection and care. (The Twelve and Twelve, page 116)
The First In-Person Meeting
The first in-person meeting was one of the sweetest reunions I have ever attended; gratitude was theme we each repeated — even as some of us shared some painful losses. And then we began with the First Step**
How goes it with you, dear reader?
For as locked up as many of have been because of COVID-19, we can still share our experience strength and hope in ways the A.A. pioneers didn’t have. I hope you will.
So, here’s a link to stuff worth reading — or listening to. Alcoholics Anonymous
Thanks for stopping by!
Love in Christ,
Sober and Grateful
P.S. A window into the way things are:Drunk Nation: Why Do British People Drink So Much?
* Step 12: Preparation for a New Understading of Powerlessness
** Step One: Defeated, But Enjoying a Daily Repreive/
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