I have been hitting LOTS of meetings this past week. I have been slacking off lately and if you've been around AA long enough-you know this is not a good thing. So I think God noticed and put some new people in my life as a friendly reminder. One of these new people is a man who is a friend of my sisters. He just got out of detox after having a lengthy drinking career of 30 years. This is his first attempt at recovery. I agreed to show him the ropes and get him started and the rest is in Gods hands. He seems to really want it. I pray he gets it.The meeting I went to tonight is literally 2 doors down from my house. How convenient right? Well I usually don't care for this particular meeting, but I am so glad that I went tonight. I noticed a few of the regulars were in attendance, but the rest of the room consisted of new faces. Well new to ME anyway. I was asked to read how it works and Mr. Detox mentioned above was asked to read the preamble. When Mr. Chairperson asked if there was anyone new, all of the people I did not recognize identified themselves. A room full of newcomers. Sweet. When they asked if anyone had a suggestion for a topic I spoke up and suggested we talk about newcomers. DUH.
Well I think that if these newbies were listening they know there is hope for them. They are not alone. We all shared about our experiences of being the newcomer and what we experienced when we first came in and what its like now. Pretty heavy stuff. I loved it.
One of the newcomers was a woman sitting 2 chairs away and when she shared her story, I just wanted to jump out of my chair and hug her and ease her pain, her fear. She was terrified. She was ashamed. She was shaking. She was red as a beet. She didn't want to die. She was ME when I first came in. My heart just ached for her. Nothin' like a newbie to keep it green for ya. For me anyway. I gave her my number and told her to USE IT. She didn't have to be afraid, she is NOT ALONE in this. I hope she uses it. I gave her a hug and off she went. I hope to see her again.
Time for me to hit the sack, Thanks for letting ME share! Queenie OUT
7 comments:
Great post. Newcomers are the lifeblood for Al-Anon too. They are in so much pain when they come in. But if they keep coming back, they start to finally hear that there is hope. Glad that you were there.
you just reminded me there's an NA on tonight and i could walk there...
(notice: i ain't promising **** to no-one!)
I am glad that your meeting went well! I love meeting new people and learning about them. Everyone has something to offer and we can learn from everyone.
Kelli
Oooo, great post Neesie.
I love newcomers too. And that's the best way for me to get a giant sized dose of gratitude for MY sobriety...no matter how weak it may seem to me at the time!
Great post and great post for newcomers. I love the Step One meetings! Thanks for being there, I bet they were as excited and filled with hope as you were!
Like Syd said, glad you were there!
I love newcomers!!!
Great post.
In the early morning room I've been running into newcomers right and left lately. Mainly, it's because whenever I see an unfamiliar face, I get right on it. Usually they are sitting alone.
It is actually--along with being life-and-death serious--it's, well, FUN. Meeting new people, seeing them light up when someone steps away from an obviously friendly group to speak to them one-on-one.
I LOVE doing this.
Steve E.
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