AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)
October 16, 2013
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Service In AA
Whenever I go to a meeting, I like to arrive early and stay late.
I like the face-to-face sharing before and after the meetings.
That way, I get to meet the new members
and give them a warm welcome, a handshake, and a smile.
- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 1], p. 139
Thought to Ponder . . .
Service is gratitude in action.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H E A R T = Healing, Enjoying, And Recovering Together.
A Member Shares:
Hi AA Family, I'm Peyton, and I'm a grateful alcoholic. To me, service work is vital to my sobriety. During those first meetings online, also face-to-face, I got there right before the meeting started and was headed out the door right after the amen. As much as I wanted to have what you all obviously were living, I was scared to death of you all, too. That silly stuff that each one of us thinks, "If they know the REAL me, they'll hate me!" Yikes! I can laugh at that now, but it was very real to me at first. I had a sponsor, some great mentors in AA, and rooms full of people who lovingly gave me what had been given to them in this program of sobriety and life. My sponsor told me to show up early to meetings and stay late after meetings. It wasn't just a matter of helping set up, or making coffee, etc., it helped me get to know you sober folks, and for you all to get to know me. Today, I'm blessed to be able to share my experience, strength and hope with others who were just as terrified and hopeless as I when I got to AA. It's not just a responsibility, it is a privilege and a pleasure to try to pay forward the gifts I was given that are absolutely priceless to me. To see that light come on in someone's eyes, where once I saw only pain, to just reach out and say to someone, "I'm sorry you're hurting; I care. I'll pray for you." I think I'm still pretty selfish when it comes to service work -- see, it feels great and helps me with my own sobriety; to be there and to be of service to others. Thanks for showing me how it works, and that it does work IF I work it. Love you all.
To respond to the sharer, please email DTShare@aa-alive.org and it will be forwarded to them.
(All shares are reproduced with the kind permission of the person sharing)
Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Blessings in sobriety to all,
In love and service,
joanna b
dailythought@aa-alive.org
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