We had a woman today, who has been in about a month or two. She’s a retread, who had 8 yrs. before she went back out. Her message today was so heartfelt it was hard to ignore. She’s scared to death and wants this program. Her recent bottom must have been really something. But, it was her final words, which reached everyone in attendance. She said she was hanging on for dear life and she wanted to continue to hang on, despite her feelings. Talk about desperation. It was a message for us all.
When I see people like this and hear their words, I am not only touched, but also reminded of those early days in my own sobriety. But more than that. Her sharing, I think, cut through most of us and brought us up to the moment. It was a wake up call. Wake up! Help! Booze is still out there. It’s calling to us all to come back. If we don’t believe that, we have only to look at this woman and listen to her words. It called to her and she went back to it. She’s living proof that our alcoholism is alive and well in each one of us.
It was so appropriate, this talk of hers. We were talking about the 6th step. Our character defects. The one that tells us that delay might be fatal. The one that tells us that if we don’t take care of them, we might just do what she did. Drink!
Thank God, we combined that step with the 2nd step. The answer to our frailties.
That meeting today told me that meetings are really so important. If I hadn’t been there, I would have missed this most important message. I was glad I was there and hope I remember this woman and her words.