I'm driving home from an AA meeting last evening that, like countless other meetings, was held in a church. It has been my experience that I have sat in far more pews than I have sat in "the rooms" of alcoholics anonymous. I share that to signify that I have been entering church doors since I was baptized at infancy. My realization was this ~ in all of those churches I entered for worship, I am incapable of drawing comparisons with the experience of entering church for the purpose of an AA meeting. It is only if you have done so that you can possibly know what I mean. When these people say "call me, here's my number", they mean it. When they listen to you speak, they're displaying an engaging interest and concern that could never be mistaken as insincere. But one of the "stand-out" characteristics I find time after time is the empathy being extended. Outside of these rooms, when we share life experiences with one another, it can appear comforting to offer words like "I went through the same thing last year, I get what you're going through" ~ but have ya ever walked away from that conversation thinking, "is she delirious; no way can she 'know' how I feel." Not so when someone in an AA meeting says, "I get you ~ I did the exact same thing ~ I totally know what you're going through at this very moment." The pronounced difference, of course, is that you really feel understood and just when you were beginning to doubt yourself, to regress into negative thinking, you're lifted up by a room full of strangers who remarkably express this proclivity for sharing your burdens. AND THEY MEAN IT ~ its for real !! Equally astounding is the steadfastness of this program. Virtually any town, village, or city you visit in our world ~ someone is holding an AA meeting. The program has stood the test of time and will always be there, waiting,
for when we're ready.[/FONT]