The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
This morning's Serenity on Sunday meeting was a monthly speaker meeting. The guest speaker was a woman that I have been blessed by watching her enter the program and work it as best she could for the last 7 years with the consequence that she now has a very solid personal recovery program. I use to do meetings with her son in Alateen and he dropped out. Her husband tried sobriety and he dropped out and is currently practicing. She came in to the program and did a part-time 1 meeting a week or so and then dropped out for a while...went quiet...underground...sat in the corner but she didn't stop wanting the serenity that other members had and then she had her first miracle the realization that if she did more she would get more. She spoke about the early days of "husband bashing" and mentioned that she finally got sick of that and was afraid that the membership was also. She spoke about having trouble with "God" in anyway that "God" is understood because she had converted from Christianity to Buddism. She mentioned that the membership kept reminding her not to let anything interfer with her recovery and that she should work the program with her own understanding and awareness. She kept coming back and she has grown so much and become such a beautiful person and we are all happy for us.
After the meeting we all had a few minutes with her and shared our own gratitudes for having been a part of her journey. When I had my chance I told her that she had unintentionally (my perception and belief only) re- inforced with one word a very important tool of our program. She couldn't guess what it was. I asked her if she remembered doing service to the program as a meeting secretary and of course she remembered but not the word. I told her that the word was God and she half got it until she started to remember how she had opened and closed the meetings with the Serenity Prayer. She would not say God. How she did it (of course she had explained herself at an earlier time) was when our hands were all joined and we were ready, she would say okay "one, two, three, now!!" and everyone else in the room would enter the prayer with..."God"... I told her that she had never realized that whenever she did that, that the very first thought and then word out of the other members present was "God". Her acceptance of Buddism reinforced our acceptance of a power greater than ourselves.
There isn't anything or anyone that God cannot and willnot use for the recovery of others. What ever you do get a Power Greater than YOURSELF. I could support another members recovery.
It works when you work it and my own recovery is stronger because she did work her own.
I asked this in another thread, but not sure you got around to reading it - I'm starting to sound like a stalker! Are you coming to the Big Island Bash this coming weekend?
Thank you for this share. I am so delighted and feel empowered by it. It seems that I am always in trouble for reinforcing God as my Higher Power, and I cannot understand why there is a problem with that. God is in so much of AA and Al-anon and God is as you point out the first word of that wonderful prayer.
God grant me the Serenity to accept that others will not always agree with this and will endeavour from time to time to stop me from saying or referring to God. The God of my understanding is there for everyone who wishes to have Him in their lives and as their Higher Power.
Many many blessing Jerry, you are so much a part of my recovery and treasured as a member of this MIP family.
Again, thank you from my heart. Suzannah
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Out of the ruin of my past I have found the fortress of myself and I know how to defend it.
Strive for WISDOM; Seek SERENITY; NEVER compromise your INTEGRITY.
It takes courage and is helped by an understanding group to opt out of the god talk if that is not your understanding of HP. She is a person I would like to cross paths with. In my small town we choosse our battles, when it comes to this topic, because some would choose to cause a rift over it. This is one reason I come to MIP though, to get veiws from the rest of the world. Mine could be awefully small if I didn't have you all here.
In recovery,
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~Jen~
"When you come to the edge of all you know you must believe in one of two things... there will be earth on which to stand or you will be given wings." ~Unknown
