Sponsorship: Benefits & Challenges
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.
This being the year of the CFC, we are highlighting the value of the SA program for members inside correctional institutions.
Discussion Topic: Is everyone in your group being sponsored and sponsoring others?
I’ve read the letters of many imprisoned females seeking help for our addiction. I have had the privilege of sponsoring someone in prison, and it has been a gift and a blessing to my recovery.
The road of our recovery started when a more experienced member accepted entry into a very special relationship with us: the relationship of one reco- vering sexaholic helping another recovering sexaholic. We can’t make it on our own.
For the last four years I have been serving women who have decided to change their lives with the help of the Twelve Steps. During this time, I started working Steps with more than 30 women.
I surrender in a place where I least expected it—sponsorship. I thought that, working on principle, under the guidance of the Twelve Steps and Traditions, I was safe from my character defects.
