anonymous no more

One by one they went up front after their names were called. Not their full names, just their first names and maybe an initial for their last name. I actually recognized one of the attendees, but I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone I met him. That is horrible. To be this close to someone I see every week on my favorite show and have to keep my big fat mouth shut! What’s the use, no one would ever believe me anyway because his television persona is a super good guy!

They all had the same story, Hi my name is (fill in the blank) and I’m an alcoholic. Their stories were identical. That first drink, all the drinks in between, and the last drink. For some the last drink was right before they came to the meeting. They were hoping it would be their last drink. People rallied around these newcomers, hugging and crying. But the tears weren’t without hope, for some of the huggers had not had a drink in years. Well, maybe soda water, coffee and tea, but nothing fermented.

Lists were handed out to the newbie’s with names of same sex members they could chose from to call, anytime, anywhere. And standing invitations were open to come back the next day and the day after that and the day after that. In fact it was considered a requirement. Ninety days of attendance any group any hour. Recovery b y themselves wouldn’t be easy. They needed support. They needed encouragement. They needed to break ties with drinking buddies. They needed the twelve step program; they had to work through The Book. They needed a higher power. They needed God. Some needed a cigarette. That’s a whole other addiction that needs a support group. Smoker’s Anonymous. SA. Sounds catchy doesn’t it. Well maybe I need to work on that.

Anyway, I noticed the guiding principle here. Support. Encouragement. No one judged anyone, condemned anyone. I was here by invitation only to witness a relative get his recognition for months of sobriety: a gold (plated) token. Yeah! You go boy! Everyone cheered for him the same as they had for the other anonymous members. His sponsor got up and spoke glowing words about his accomplishments in the past few months. Yeah! You go boy! I was so proud of him!

I’m a member of another larger group I was invited to years ago. When we gather we get up and say, “Hi, my name is (fill in the blank) and I’m a sinner.” We gather for support and encouragement. We’re not judged, (that’s a laugh, but at least we’re not judged by our higher power!)We get assigned a sponsor, direct from God himself, because walking the spiritual line isn’t easy on your own. We meet regularly. We break ties with other sinners who refuse to repent. Well, not all sinners because we’d have to leave the world for that, (and we will some glorious day, and it could just be today!) We just avoid the dangerous malefactors, drug dealers, thieves, fornicators (yes that’s an outdated word), star gazers, Satan and his cronies, any one that could lead us down the wrong road again. And that’s a judgment call because we aren’t all enticed by the same vices. We have a book we follow with only one step to recovery, acknowledging we’re sinners and accepting the free gift offered to us(free for us but it was costly to our founder!). We’re not an anonymous group, at least not here in America, and we are allowed to tell people who we meant at the meetings, again at least here, we’re especially required to tell people about our initiator, again, at least here, who ironically was a sinless man. And we get a token for our continued adherence to the program! It’s bigger than a gold plated token! It’s a crown! Or crowns! Or a city! Or cities! Yeah! You go people!

Math. 7:23
Luke 12:18
Luke 19:17
Rom. 16:17
1 Cor. 9:25
1 Thes. 2:19
2 Tim 3:5
2 Tim 4:8
1 Pet. 5:4