Broadening My Horizons

So for the past 4 years I have been attending LDS Addiction Recovery meetings pretty much weekly.  It has been a great experience and I have made many wonderful friends.  It became a comfort zone and place that I enjoyed being.  It was my safe place.  Over that time period I briefly tried seeing a therapist but have resisted attending other groups that were not 100% sponsored by the LDS Church.  I reasoned that I had what I needed and I didn't need anything else.

Well last night I decided to jump out of my comfort zone a little bit and attend my very first SA meeting.  SA, if you are not familiar, is Sexaholics Anonymous, and it is patterned after the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous.  Well if I am being honest, I didn't really decide on my own to attend.  Sidreis wanted to attend and asked me to go with her and I agreed.  When we first arrived we were among the first people in the room.  Everyone was very friendly and kind.  We sat down and watched as people started pouring in.  It was more people than I have ever seen in an LDS PASG room.  And to my pleasant surprise, 2 men that I know very well from my own 12 Step meetings ended up attending including one of my close friends and supporters who was actually the brother that listened to my step 5.  I immediately felt at home and as if I was among friends.

Things were different but the same.  There are many different versions of the 12 Steps out there but they all ultimately stem from the original 12 Steps written for AA many, many years ago.  So while the wording was different, it was still the same.  As we went around the room there were a few things that really stuck out at me.

First off.  There is a great deal more accountability in the SA circle.  Instead of just saying your name and maybe admitting to some level of addiction.  People are asked to share their name, addiction, how many phone calls or contacts they had with others in recovery that week and what, if any, step work they accomplished that week.  This is very different from what I am accustomed too where you can pass with just saying your name and volunteering nothing at all about yourself.

Secondly, they talked NON-STOP about the importance of sponsorship.  There was even a moment where numerous people raised their hands expressing a willingness to be sponsors and had various members of the group share how sponsorship had enabled them to embrace the program and gain sobriety and recovery.

Thirdly, they actually spend a lot of time helping you understand what exactly sobriety is.  This is a concept that I think a  lot of people struggle with.  Do I restart my sobriety?  Was it really a slip? Does it even matter?  I know that I struggled a lot with this in my early days of recovery. 

The only thing I didn't like, is they take all first timers into a room with a couple veterans and have a "new members meeting."  I am sure it is an awesome experience for someone who is completely new to recovery and 12 step but it was a little odd.  Still  a good experience and got to know some good men, I just would have liked to have been part of the group sharing instead.

Ultimately the greatest lesson I learned is that all good things come from God.  Anything that leads me towards him and gives me additional resources to better my recovery and bring me closer to my Heavenly Father is a good thing.  More recovery tools and recovery friends are always a good thing.  Satan has tried for decades to make me feel alone, like I am the only one that struggles.  So I love hearing stories similar to mine.  I love catching him in his lies and reaffirming that I am not broken or lost or beyond hope.  I have found it many times in LDS PASG meetings and last night I found it again in SA.  It was wonderful to be amongst friends.

~~~ Tim