The Most Important Person in the Room

We had a very important person at our step study tonight. In fact, he's the most important person in the whole organization. He's a newcomer. A person who is there looking for help. The poor guy has been detoxing without medical assistance for 3 days... Which is incredibly dangerous. This article on Livestrong.com talks about it. Click here to view.

He basically lost everything in the course of 2 weeks. Looking at him, I saw a shadow of a man. Slumped over, beaten, sobbing. Not only are we all there to help him, but he also helps us. We see from the outside what we were like at our first meeting. Or our second or third "first" meeting. And that alone is more than enough to remind us of why we quit drinking and started recovery.

We passed a meeting schedule to him with our phone numbers on it, and one of the old-timers talked to him afterward. I hope nothing but the best for the guy.

On a bit of a lighter note, I need to start remembering that it's no longer 2011. I'm accustomed to ending with "this year" when giving my full sobriety date. We do that at the beginning of some meetings. I think the only thing anybody heard was "this year". I couldn't figure out why everyone's jaws dropped when I gave mine. One lady I haven't met before said, "Keep coming back." I just smiled like an idiot, without realizing what I'd just said, and told her, "Thank you." Thought it was kinda funny. Had to quickly correct myself when I realized my error.

Goodnight and peace be with you.

God and Will

Hey! My favorite comfy chair just opened up at CC's. I'm having a cold ginger peach tea. It's t-shirt and shorts weather in New Orleans in November. Too warm out for a coffee.

Just got back uptown from the Mustard Seed. Finally got my new chip. My sobriety date is the 18th but I've been either having to work, or the meeting I was going to didn't have chips.... Excited to have it, but it's the date that really counts.

The meeting topic was good too. It was about ego, will and how they can interfere with the work of your Higher Power. Now I am still of the school that, for a large part, we make our own decisions and way through life with his guidance. There would be no accountability if we didn't. There are definitely things that God does directly in our lives. I have no doubt about that because I experience it everyday. And God guides us, protects us, gives us courage and wisdom when we ask for it. I ask for it every night. I thank him for keeping me sober another day and for the people he has put in my life. I also thank him for giving me another day on this planet. That's something that I once took as granted. I ask him to help me better myself and to put me in a position where I can better other people. I have some individual people that I pray for and thank him for too. I pray that he sees fit to bring one of those people back into my life. Prayer and faith can move mountains.... in recovery and in everyday living. You just have to give the steering wheel over to him.

That kind of turned into a paragraph about my relationship with God. That's ok, though. Wouldn't be here without him.

Something else from the Mustard Seed that kinda hit home was a lady who shared that she had come to the meeting to be around sober people. She didn't know if she was an alcoholic, but a recent event had shaken her. A neighbor who had just come back from the hospital had died. She described it pretty graphically. I wont do that here. He was at the hospital for some kind of alcohol related problem. When he'd gotten back he was shaking and obviously still detoxing. Don't know why they sent him home. That's a very dangerous time. Well. They found him a couple of days later surrounded by empty bottles. I've known people who have died from this disease and I know that I could very well have ended up like him. Thank God I didn't. And wont.

Working til 10:30 tonight, but I'll write again afterward.