After the meeting today I went out on the back porch to grab a moment of solitude. I wanted to contemplate on what went on. As I was sitting there I had a thought that was reinforced by what I saw on that porch. My sister, who did ceramics, had placed a stone there, which had a painting of an angel on it. It was inscribed with the words “Angels Gather Here”. Something she puts in the garden in the summer.
I had to smile at the thought. It reminded me of the meeting this morning. There we were talking about doing the Steps and sponsorship. What I thought was sponsors as Guardian Angels. Those who guide and protect us from the next drink.
It also reminded me of the spirit of that meeting. It truly was a place filled with spirituality. A serious meeting, but lighthearted in many ways. In a sense, I thought, where angels were gathered.
In a way I was amazed. That I could be thinking this thought about a bunch of alcoholics. Men and women, who had gone astray under the influence of alcohol. Sober men and women, who had undergone a spiritual awakening, as a result of putting the Twelve Steps into action in their lives.
I had to laugh out loud, when one man described me as cantankerous. It really was funny. Especially, when another called me Gram-pa Smurf. Light spirited.
But the thought of my sponsor and all those old timers brought back memories and filled me with gratitude. They guarded and guided me into sobriety and indeed life itself. All that I have and am I owe to them and the God of my understanding. Guardian Angels indeed.
I’m laughing, as I write this. There’s nothing angelic about me. Come to think about it, there was nothing angelic, at least on the surface, about my sponsor or the old timers. Anything but that at times. But then it doesn’t matter what I think. What is important is that they were sober. So am I.