I turned 74 last week. Yikes!! \u00a0I have been sober exactly half my age. \u00a0And I can’t begin to account for all that has happened on my journey of 74 years. \u00a0I can assure you much of it wasn’t according to my plan! \u00a0And how lucky I am that my plan was thwarted by God more than 37 years ago. \u00a0I’d not be alive to write this blog if I had had my way. \u00a0As a matter of fact, God tried to get my attention hundreds of times. \u00a0I was just not willing to listen.<\/p>\n
And then the miracle began. \u00a0It happened for me like for so many others. \u00a0The presence of someone else on my journey led me into Al-Anon first and then a counselor led me into AA a couple of years later. \u00a0Both programs continue to be paramount to the success of my journey. \u00a0I’m confident that will always be the case. \u00a0As a matter of fact, I go to more meetings per week now than I did in the early years of sobriety. \u00a0Do I need them more? \u00a0That’s doubtful. \u00a0But I know that giving back is at least half of my program. \u00a0Perhaps the better half.<\/p>\n
I was at a meeting this morning and an old friend showed up, a woman I had known in the program many years ago. \u00a0She said she hadn’t been to meetings for years. \u00a0She had not relapsed, she simply didn’t include meetings in her schedule of activities. \u00a0That amazes me. \u00a0I have never considered, in all these years, not going to meetings. \u00a0She assured us she was doing just fine. \u00a0And I imagine she is. \u00a0I know that my comfort level demands that I be present to witness the journey of others, and to be witnessed, in return. \u00a0Our program is a we program. \u00a0None of us does it alone. \u00a0And for that I’m thankful.<\/p>\n
The irony of this fact of my journey is that I was always desperate to be “a we,” throughout my life. \u00a0My abandonment issue, an issue that had haunted me from childhood on, made me cling to others, men in particular. \u00a0Certain that I’d never make it alone. \u00a0Of course, the “we” I was after then was far different from the “we” that saves each one of us now. \u00a0What I wanted too much I have received. \u00a0It simply doesn’t look like I thought it would. \u00a0God had a better idea! \u00a0Wouldn’t you agree?<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I turned 74 last week. Yikes!! \u00a0I have been sober exactly half my age. \u00a0And I can’t begin to account for all that has happened on my journey of 74 years. \u00a0I can assure you much of it wasn’t according to my plan! \u00a0And how lucky I am that my plan was thwarted by God […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[8,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-karens-musings","category-reflections-in-the-mirror-you-and-yourself"],"yoast_head":"\n