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.
I thought I would share a story about how I got introduced to Al Anon and my wife got introduced to AA. It's only recently that I've reflected on this and all that happened and how it is so obvious that my higher power was in control, although I never would have guessed it at the time.
About a year or so ago, my wife & I started seeing a marriage counselor. I wasn't overly enthusiastic about it--we had been to one other but only went to one session because the experience was not a good one. We gave this new counselor a try mostly because he was just down the street from where we lived and he participated in my insurance coverage!
Anyway, the first few sessions were actually pretty good. I was more impressed with the counselor than I thought I would be. Things at home weren't getting better, however--they were getting much worse. My wife's behavior was becoming unusual and I didn't have an explanation for it. I explained to our counselor during our joint sessions that the only way I could describe it was it seemed like she had been drinking, but I knew that wasn't possible. My wife denied it and I had no reason not to believe her. But something wasn't right. Eventually I came home and she had an empty bottle of wine in her hand and everything came to light.
We discussed it in our next appointment with our counselor. He started talking about things like alcoholism and AA & Al Anon, etc. He was really pushing this and I felt like it was not appropriate--yes, my wife had done something foolish but she wasn't an alcoholic! Eventually, my wife started attending AA. The first thing she said when she returned from her first meeting was "It was great, but I am not an alcoholic". Our counselor encouraged me to go to Al Anon and I went to one meeting but didn't return for months.
My wife continued to go to meetings but the problem was just getting worse & worse. This was our darkest time. I was an absolute mess and started attending Al Anon regularly. One morning, my wife went to an AA meeting and said "guess who was at my meeting today?". Sure enough, our counselor was there and is a recovering alcoholic, 13 years sober (I know you aren't supposed to share who you see at meetings but this was somewhat of a special circumstance, and knowing that he is in recovery has made our individual sessions with him so much more productive).
My point in sharing this long, long story is what would have happened if we didn't see this counselor? We likely wouldn't have ever considered going to AA or Al Anon. And where would that leave us today? It truly is a miracle when I think about it, how everything fell into place. To not see God's hand in this is naive, in my opinion.
Things aren't perfect now, far from it, but they are improved. But I literally shutter to think of where my wife & I would be if we weren't attending meetings.
Thank you for sharing this UsedToBe...It is amazing to me, as I knew about alanon and AA many many years ago, but I had no idea what it was for. I knew my uncle went to AA and got sober and has been for 21 years. I knew other teenagers when I was a teen that went to alateen. I knew a tiny bit about alanon, that it was for the family and friends of people who were alcoholic. I had no idea what went on, and I knew nothing about codependency or being an adult child of an alcoholic or dysfunction. I met my bf almost 2 years ago. Because of him I began to go to alanon last July. If I had never met him, I would never have gone, because I didn't have an "alcoholic" in my life. I had no idea I needed to be here so badly. I need the ideas and principles in my life every day. In all my affairs. It is a miracle ... and I am a miracle in progress... Thanks again!
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-youfoundme
Let go and let God...Let it be... let it begin with me...
Great share Usetobe...one more confirmation that it works when we work it and I also have come to the belief that HP is always working it. When we all work it at the same time the consequence is miracles. I also like feel good shares for the same reason.
That is how I earned my second referral slip to Alanon through a double winner marriage counselor in both programs. My spouse went to one AA meeting and I have been in the program active for many years. My first experience happened after I relocating to another city and my first friend was unbeknownst to me a sober member of AA. She observed what was going on in my life and said to me I think you need to go to Alanon. Gods unmerited grace was written all over both "coincidences" to which I know today is God acting anonymously.
