JFT December 5
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Posts: 2,274
JFT December 5
December 5
Those who want to recover
“We have seen the program work for any addict who honestly and sincerely wants to stop [using drugs].”
Basic Text, p. 10
––––=––––
How do we know when someone honestly and sincerely wants to stop using drugs? The truth is that we don’t know! Because we cannot read minds or know another’s motives and desires, we simply have to hope for the best.
We may talk to a newcomer at a meeting and think we’ll never see them again, only to find them several years later doing well in their recovery. We may be tempted to give up on someone who keeps relapsing or doesn’t get clean right away, but we must not. No matter how unwilling someone may seem, a simple fact remains—the addict is at a meeting.
We may never know the results of our Twelfth Step work; it is not up to us to gauge the willingness of a newcomer. The message we carry is a part of us. We carry it everywhere and share it freely, leaving the results to a Power greater than ourselves.
––––=––––
Just for today: I will share my recovery with any addict, anywhere, anytime, and under any circumstances. I will leave the results to my Higher Power.
Those who want to recover
“We have seen the program work for any addict who honestly and sincerely wants to stop [using drugs].”
Basic Text, p. 10
––––=––––
How do we know when someone honestly and sincerely wants to stop using drugs? The truth is that we don’t know! Because we cannot read minds or know another’s motives and desires, we simply have to hope for the best.
We may talk to a newcomer at a meeting and think we’ll never see them again, only to find them several years later doing well in their recovery. We may be tempted to give up on someone who keeps relapsing or doesn’t get clean right away, but we must not. No matter how unwilling someone may seem, a simple fact remains—the addict is at a meeting.
We may never know the results of our Twelfth Step work; it is not up to us to gauge the willingness of a newcomer. The message we carry is a part of us. We carry it everywhere and share it freely, leaving the results to a Power greater than ourselves.
––––=––––
Just for today: I will share my recovery with any addict, anywhere, anytime, and under any circumstances. I will leave the results to my Higher Power.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 128
I'm sure many people had their doubts about me being sincere when I first came into recovery. I bounced in and out of meetings for about 2 years. But I finally got the message. Here I am now many years down the road still sober. Even though it was AA that I went to for help I took many drugs over the years and I could have just as easily ended up in NA. Those wonderful 12 steps work great for all of us.
We Do Recover
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Texas
Posts: 2,619
I have been to different 12 step groups over the years... (originally introduced to me via court system or rehab)....and have often felt that some were getting frustrated with me--I was a chronic relapser. I even heard it said I maybe didn't want sobriety bad enough. 
I felt hopeless and defeated cause I really was trying, just couldn't seem to understand/get it--what I saw everyone else getting and/or experiencing. Since then, I have started coming to NA and here recently I have been struggling. I figured I would encounter the same judgmental feedback I had received from other fellowships but that hasn't been the case this time. In fact, everyone has been really supportive and caring. It kind of shocked me--I hadn't experienced that before.........to be loved unconditionally even though I was still using and had some clean time once before. (I made a year with NA--but got too complacent and it all kind of fell apart and I eventually started to use again.) NA has been very supportive of my recovery--carry the message, not the addict. They have loved me back into the fellowship--I was ashamed to go back at first cause I felt like a failure and I didn't want to be a disappointment to anyone. Their lack of judgment and offer of love/support have given me hope once again. That maybe I can do it. We do recover (after all). 
I felt hopeless and defeated cause I really was trying, just couldn't seem to understand/get it--what I saw everyone else getting and/or experiencing. Since then, I have started coming to NA and here recently I have been struggling. I figured I would encounter the same judgmental feedback I had received from other fellowships but that hasn't been the case this time. In fact, everyone has been really supportive and caring. It kind of shocked me--I hadn't experienced that before.........to be loved unconditionally even though I was still using and had some clean time once before. (I made a year with NA--but got too complacent and it all kind of fell apart and I eventually started to use again.) NA has been very supportive of my recovery--carry the message, not the addict. They have loved me back into the fellowship--I was ashamed to go back at first cause I felt like a failure and I didn't want to be a disappointment to anyone. Their lack of judgment and offer of love/support have given me hope once again. That maybe I can do it. We do recover (after all). 
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