Courage to Change ~ June 27
This is NOT my first Rodeo
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Midwest USA
Posts: 28
Courage to Change ~ June 27
Courage to Change ODAT in Al-Anon II 6/27
One day I received a call from a newcomer to Al-Anon. We chatted for a while, and then he asked if I would consider being his sponsor. I was shocked! I never expected anyone to ask me! I felt deeply humbled and ecstatically grateful at the same time.
But had I grown sufficiently to offer help to someone else? Did I have anything to give? Could I be there for someone else without losing myself? Fear took over for a minute, but then I remembered that he was not asking me to be his savior, only his helper, whose example and experience might lead him to his own recovery.
I know that my Higher Power brings people into my life who can help me to grow. So I said a quick prayer, asking to be worthy, and answered that I would be honored to be his sponsor.
Today’s Reminder
Being a sponsor is as much a commitment to myself as it is to someone else. It is not a favor. Sponsorship gives me a chance to share intimately, to care, to practice detaching with love, and to apply the Al-Anon principles more consciously than ever. And, if I listen to my own words, I find that I usually tell those whom I sponsor exactly what I myself need to hear.
“Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
One day I received a call from a newcomer to Al-Anon. We chatted for a while, and then he asked if I would consider being his sponsor. I was shocked! I never expected anyone to ask me! I felt deeply humbled and ecstatically grateful at the same time.
But had I grown sufficiently to offer help to someone else? Did I have anything to give? Could I be there for someone else without losing myself? Fear took over for a minute, but then I remembered that he was not asking me to be his savior, only his helper, whose example and experience might lead him to his own recovery.
I know that my Higher Power brings people into my life who can help me to grow. So I said a quick prayer, asking to be worthy, and answered that I would be honored to be his sponsor.
Today’s Reminder
Being a sponsor is as much a commitment to myself as it is to someone else. It is not a favor. Sponsorship gives me a chance to share intimately, to care, to practice detaching with love, and to apply the Al-Anon principles more consciously than ever. And, if I listen to my own words, I find that I usually tell those whom I sponsor exactly what I myself need to hear.
“Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This is NOT my first Rodeo
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Midwest USA
Posts: 28
For those of us who have been in the program for awhile, coming here to SR and sharing our experience, strength and hope is a bit like sponsorship.
I know that each time I respond to one of your posts, I am reaching within myself. Sometimes I have a similar experience, more often than not I have had a similar feeling. Many times, after I read and respond, I have to reflect as well.
All of you help and bless me more than you can ever know... and for that I am incredibly grateful. And that's how we help one another in Al Anon!
TBK
Sponsorship gives me a chance to share intimately, to care, to practice detaching with love, and to apply the Al-Anon principles more consciously than ever. And, if I listen to my own words, I find that I usually tell those whom I sponsor exactly what I myself need to hear.
All of you help and bless me more than you can ever know... and for that I am incredibly grateful. And that's how we help one another in Al Anon!
TBK
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