Sometimes my 12th Step recovery work is such a thankless job because more than not the sick people I try to help don’t know how to appreciate it. But occasionally, there really are some diamonds in that rough and I just experienced one of them about a week ago when I was at a wedding.
The wedding was for one of my sponsee’s sons who I had gotten to know over time from all the step work I had done at their house. It was such a nice gesture to have even been invited to the wedding at all, but it was later during the reception where something even better happened. As I watched the music play and people dance, a woman approached me and asked for a moment of my time.
It was my sponsee’s sister. As she she stood over me while I sat in my chair, she clasped my hands in hers and said she wanted to thank me for all the work I had done for her brother, as it truly had helped bring them closer together. I could feel her sincerity and was extremely grateful to my Higher Power for that very moment. It really isn’t that often that things like this happen in my 12 Step work, as more often than not, I find myself seeing the people I help relapse, die, or giving me the blame for something I didn’t do. Sadly, that’s just what sick people do when they come into the rooms of recovery looking for help, as they’re still blaming everyone else for their problems rather than looking at themselves.
So this truly was a blessing in my book from my Higher Power, of which I immediately told the woman that we both should be thanking God, as it was God who helped bring her brother into my life and provide me the help that was needed to bring him through the program.
Her brother in fact just celebrated two years of sobriety a few weeks ago and that alone was a blessing too. But actually having someone approach me and offer a heartfelt appreciation for the 12th step work I did was a far greater blessing.
The reality though is that I don’t do 12th step work for some hidden agenda. I don’t do it for the sole purpose of looking for things like this either. But when they do come along, like they sometimes do, I’m extremely thankful, because they really don’t come along all that often.
So I simply wanted to write this entry, offering thanks to not only my sponsee’s sister, but also to my Higher Power because it was my Higher Power who continues to give me gentle reminders every now and then like this, of how proud He really is of me…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson