It was birthday night at our AA meeting.
A fellow I’d come to know was receiving his 1-year chip.
I reflected on how far he had come during the year. When I first met him, he had lost everything. His wife had kicked him out, he’d been fired from his job, and he was homeless. Now, he was taking a one-year chip.
The mood was joyful, his family was there to see the presentation, and it was grand.
His sponsor gave him his chip. He took the podium, introduced himself, thanked his sponsor, and began, “This is the second time I’ve received a 1-year chip.
“Ten years ago, I achieved one year of sobriety. Tonight is the same and different. My first-year story this time was the same as my first-year story ten years ago, but this first-year celebration was nothing like my celebration ten years ago.
“Ten years ago and this past year, when I came to AA, I had lost everything and was on the streets. Ten years ago and this past year, I sobered up, got a sponsor, and worked the steps. Ten years ago and this past year, I managed to get one year of sobriety.
But ten years ago, when I took my chip at my celebration, I decided I had graduated and, without telling anyone, gave myself a certificate of completion.
“First, I lost my Program; then I lost everything else. It was a rough ten years. Things got worse and worse. My drinking became more and more intense.
“Finally, I came back to the program. Someone asked me the difference between this time and ten years ago.
“The difference is in my thinking. Ten years ago, I took a twelve-month chip and thought I had solved the problem. I thought I had graduated.
“I mistakenly thought AA was a twelve-month program; having completed it, I could take it easy. I did not need to attend as many meetings, talk with my sponsor or do any more work on defects of character. And I had a sense of superiority; after all, I had completed the Program.
“This time, I am taking a chip as a milestone, not a finishing line.
“I have not graduated; I have only completed twelve months.”
He paused and chuckled, then continued, “I could say, ten years ago, I had a twelve-month program; this time, I have a twelve-step program. I am working a 12-step program, not completing a 12-month program.
“I have a lifetime of recovery ahead. I see now that there is no graduation from Alcoholics Anonymous and no completion certificate.”
It was an outstanding share that applies to our Program and spiritual growth.
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Milestone mark a place on my journey. They are valuable in that they help measure progress. They will only end when I pass this mortal coil. Other than that there is no finish line.
Good message this week
Thanks
Doug
Steps 8 – 12 are rinse repeat
Like the splash of cold water she so often was, my sponsor prevented my ego-inflated thinking from sabotaging me when I achieved the lofty perch of a year’s sobriety.
In a room full of people at my home group, she presented my one year medallion to me with these words: “Rena, you have spent a year learning how to not drink alcohol. Now you will spend the rest of your life learning how to be sober. “
Great sponsorship. Thanks Rena