Meetings

January 6 With Gratitude

“Let’s put our phones away and trust God for an hour.”

-my sponsor

I have been going to AA and Al-Anon meetings for many years now, and by going, I mean consistently going at least twice a week. Most of the meetings I attend are face to face meetings held in clubs or churches. There has never been a period in my recovery when I did not attend meetings, and that is because meeting attendance is an important piece to my recovery.

My behavior at meetings has always been very focused. I even bring a journal along now to most meetings and write down significant things I hear people sharing. I don’t often go back and read my journal, but during that meeting time it keeps my attention on the reading and sharing.

I have seen all kinds of strange behaviors at meetings over the years. I often become quite irritated with members who are constantly checking their phones, both newcomers and people with time. This is not the only disruptive behavior I have witnessed, however. At one daily afternoon meeting, there was a guy who used to sit in the back every single day and read the newspaper!

Meetings are a special time to me. It’s where I gain perspective by listening to the sharing of other members. I will always consider the meetings of both of my programs to be sacred ground. It is not too much for me to say that both of my programs saved my life.

Today’s Prayer

God, help me accept my meetings and the people in them just as they are. Guide me to put my judgment away, because only you can see inside the hearts of other members of the program. For some reason, they need to be at this meeting, and that is all I need to know to show true love and tolerance for my fellows.

Good morning, readers, and Happy 2025! One note on this reading from my book: I wrote this in 2021 and my meeting pattern has changed substantially since then. Ever since I started dating again in 2023 (I was not dating at all when I wrote the book), I have been going to a lot more meetings. In fact, since March 2024, I go to 5-7 meetings a week, and this is with a full-time job. I just find that it eases some of the emotional uncertainty that goes with learning how to date again. The fellowship and love I have rediscovered by going to so many meetings really works, even after 19 years of sobriety in AA and 17 years of sanity in Al-Anon. Whether “Sticking with the Winners” or “Winning with the Stickers”, meeting attendance is an important reminder of my primary purpose and always convinces me to get back into the Twelve Steps.