Tonight we went to a holiday "eating" meeting. There was a ton of good food. Lots of ham, turkey, baked beans, casseroles, including the required green bean casserole. Man, I love that stuff.
After every one had chowed down and socialized, the AA speaker was introduced. He had a great story filled with lots of 7 AM drinking escapades, loss of jobs, loss of family, black outs, and much more insanity. A good drunkalog is better than a book on tape. It amazes me that people who are hopeless drunks can get sober, work the steps, work with others, and be of service to the fellowship in countless ways. This fellow had done it all and was now 31 years sober. What a miracle!
The Al-Anon speaker was also good. I had heard her story before but every time, something different will emerge. Yes, we Al-Anons do some crazy stuff in our magnetic attraction to alcoholics. She married two of them, has an alcoholic son, and a couple of other alcoholics in her family. Her saga of finally realizing that she could not help her son get sober reminded me of what so many bloggers are going through. She said it really tested her program to stop enabling her son. She had to work all the steps again after she stopped helping him. Her heart was wounded. Once he got sober, they reconnected and rebuilt their strained relationship. Another miracle.
I don't know if you have holiday dinners at your meetings, but if you hear of one, think about going. The speakers are generally quite good. And it doesn't hurt to be reminded of the miracles that recovery can bring. I know that every day there is something wonderful happening. It just helps for me to occasionally be reminded by hearing someone tell how their life of despair and hopelessness was changed. A true miracle.
There are days when I think I don't believe anymore. When I think I've grown too old for miracles. And that's right when another seems to happen.--Dana Reinhardt (The Summer I Learned to Fly).
31 years,My hat is off to that insireation.I have not heard of any eating meetings other than donuts and coffee.
ReplyDeleteA potluck dinner meeting sounds delicious. The best we tend to whip up here is a doughnut meeting. Today a woman who just celebrated 29 years of sobriety led the meeting. She cried when she spoke of how the loneliness in her alcoholic past found a connectedness in AA, and it's as vivid today as it was 29 years ago. I'm glad the miracle keeps on being miraculous as the decades pass.
ReplyDeleteSo good to hear about miracles -- the healing that is possible. Those dinners sound great.
ReplyDeleteI too believe that everyday there is something wonderful happening. somewhere.
ReplyDelete"eating meetings" and speaker meetings are really great arent they? :)
ReplyDeletenice...miracles do still happen and often it is in the stories of those around us we will find them...cool stuff syd....
ReplyDeleteUp here we do Gifts of the Program meetings. There is a nicely wrapped or decorated gift with a slogan. Everyone speaks briefly about their gift, how it is meaningful or how they will use it. Normally there is pot luck food too. These meetings are fun and bring lots of good messages.
ReplyDeleteSyd, I always get some inspiration from you. Always. One kind or another. Thank-you.
ReplyDeleteWe had our eating meeting two weeks ago. We have Alateen speakers also, and I enjoy them. They are so honest and open..and brave.
ReplyDeleteI have never been to a holiday dinner with a group. However, my husband has become very close with some group members and we dine together regularly. It's a lot of fun. Although, I do not imbibe out of respect for the group. LOVE 31 years of sobriety. I love a story of triumph over habits. I need to hear those now and again. :)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like that was a great meeting. We have fundraisers 2x a year where we eat together. I love our program...only here can you come in broken and find compassion, acceptance and healing and then you get as an added bonus, the feelings of dignity and self respect because you had to put the program into action to make it work for you. Thanks Syd for sharing.
ReplyDeleteEating meetings are good fun. Hard to concentrate if you eat first, though - all that food tends to have a soporific effect upon the brain!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great meeting.
ReplyDeleteI love speaker meetings! I haven't heard of a holidy dinner meeting, but I might just have to make that suggestion and see about starting one for next year.
ReplyDeleteGreat quote. As long as I keep my mind and eyes open, there is always a miracle to see, experience, and feel. Thanks for sharing Syd!
For 13 years I've been going to one particular holiday "eating" meeting in Al-Anon that's also a Gifts of the Program meeting. I wrote about it today (http://guineveregetssober.com/gifts-of-the-program/). Those people helped me so much when my own mother was dying 13 years ago, and some of them are still there. And yes, the food is fantastic--this year I brought my husband's roasted winter vegetables. x /G
ReplyDeleteTHanks, Syd. It was a timely reminder. Merry Christmas!
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