When I came into the program, it was suggested I find a sponsor. I was told a sponsor would help me one-on-one to go through the Steps, and I should either take someone who meets “I want what he has’’ or simply look around at the end of the meeting for the first person who raises his hand when asked “Who is available to sponsor?”
Our White Book says, “I got a sponsor (a friend in the program to help me work the Steps) and began working on me.” (SA 23) As a sexaholic, I need to find right relations with others and God, and where best to start but with my sponsor, who can mirror back recovery and help me with the Twelve Step program.
It is difficult to describe in words the feeling of gratitude to God for me to be a sponsor. It is a great honor, responsibility, and joy. I want this process of transmitting the message of recovery from one woman to another to never stop. I believe that sponsorship is the most effective recovery tool in the SA Program.
After more than 40 years of drowning in a vast ocean of sexaholism that has a bottomless abyss, I was relieved to finally have a rescue swimmer (my sponsor) swim to my aid. I had the desperation of a drowning man and listened and followed his suggestions without question. The spiritual toolkit he was laying at my feet had immediate results.
A newer member of SA decided he didn’t need to go to any more meetings. After a few weeks, his sponsor decided to visit him. It was a chill evening and the sponsor found the sponsee at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire.
My addiction has cost me a great deal over the years. I have been arrested, lost three jobs, thrown out of a religious community and have been divorced. Despite experiencing these consequences, as well as extended periods of sobriety in SA, my addict will still tell me that acting out is a good idea!
The saying goes that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and so does a journey of a single step, by the way. The problem for me however, was that all my life, I just wanted the thousand miles.
If you haven’t seen the brand-new video that just came out about the 12 Steps, be sure to check it out! “Why Working the Steps is Important” is the multimedia story of how a member worked the Steps of SA and came to understand the Solution to his Problem.
Dear Essay, Sometimes my HP speaks to me through gentle moments of awareness, coincidences and “synchronicity,” which make me smile and say, “There you are! Thanks for that!” Of course there are times (usually when I’m stuck in my ego) when He needs to poke me in the forehead … hard! But every once in a while, I receive a rare gift when He reaches into my heart and surrounds me with His love and acceptance –a feeling of absolute clarity and certainty of his presence.
The CFC committee is declaring 2022 to be the Year of CFC. The purpose of this declaration is to highlight the importance of the work which CFC does to help our friends in prison and to bring attention and garner support by the SA membership.
