Giving Back to my Sponsor

The other night I went to a meeting that began with a reading from an Al Anon pamphlet on sponsorship. Normally I don't like such topics--it usually becomes a meeting where the theme is "Al Anon is so great" and seldom gets into anything deeper. But, it had me thinking of my relationship with my sponsor a bit.

(Photo by Grażyna Suchecka.)

I have had my struggles with my sponsor but over the past year we've settled out. A couple of months ago we bonded more because we were both in a phase where we weren't quite feeling the love of Al Anon at the time, but I've rebounded. Still, I get busy and don't call her like I should.

So, on Monday at the meeting I talked a little about the phases I've gone through with m sponsor, both good and bad. I felt guilty for not calling her and did so that night after the meeting. It turns out that her health is keeping her away from meetings, as well as some personal stuff. I felt bad, but it was good for me to hear that someone who had been in the program for 30+ years was struggling with some of the things I did. She had not been to any meetings in awhile and had not seen anyone we know.

It was odd because I felt that my sponsor, who was very experienced and helped me a lot, was in need of outreach. So, I told her a little of what I had learned in recent meetings and we talked about it. She seemed very lonely. At one of the meetings I go to we once had a pamphlet floating around called "Sponsorship is a Two Way Street". Even though I don't have nearly as much experience and my sponsor does, I can help both her and myself by calling her and talking about the program with her. After the meeting I felt I should find more ways to consistently work with her and so this can be a start.