SERVICE

April 19, from “Strengthening My Recovery” daily reader

“But before we can serve one another, we must first be willing to love and serve ourselves.” BRB p.354

“Many of us find such wonderful answers in ACA that we want to spread the word and help others before we understand what ACA is really about, and before we understand that we need to have it before we can give it away.

We’re all encouraged to offer service in our meetings as a way of giving back. And that’s all that’s expected of us for awhile.

If we choose to provide service beyond our meeting, it’s essential for our personal recovery that we examine our motives. Anything we do, whether it’s getting involved in an Intergroup or starting other meetings, must come from a place of love and gratitude for what we’ve received. If not, we may get mired in control issues, inserting ourselves in situations where we don’t belong. Or we may feel victimized if we think we’re not appreciated enough. If these things happen, and we’re working our program and using the ACA tools, we’ll be able to take a step back and see that service is a gift we give to ourselves and others. It is full of opportunities for growth that we might not otherwise have.

On this day I will balance the service I give with my own recovery needs.”

My Experience:

In the beginning my service consisted of helping to clean up the meeting at the end.  Moving chairs and tables, etc.  After a little while, I performed the service of speaking in meetings, yes this is a service because there is someone in the room that needs to hear your particular story.  I then raised my hand to be the literature person, making sure we had the literature (books, pamphlets, etc) that folks needed in order to stay engaged.  I extended my service by writing a book, “A Gladiator’s Journey.”  This enabled me to reach people beyond my home meeting that I otherwise may not have touched and it continues to touch folks in ways that I may never know.   I have also started this blog in order to give back to anyone in our community that may be afraid to take steps and do certain things.  I provide this service to show it can make a difference, things can get better, and that yes the struggle is real.  I want to demonstrate progress not perfection and by the feedback I get, it really resonates with folks.  I will continue to give back to a program that has already given so much to me. 

Blog:  www.bkcoates.com

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