Harbor Light – 2016/09

“Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.” My name is Martin and I’m an alcoholic. I’m grateful for the opportunity to write about Step 9; it’s an honor and a privilege to be able to do anything in Alcoholics Anonymous. My sobriety date is July 24th 2011, my home group is Bellflower Big Book group, I have a sponsor in that home group and those are the three most important things to me. I think it’s important to mention that my sponsor is not afraid to hurt my feelings because he is telling me the truth. The majority of the time I don’t feel good while hearing these facts, but it’s what I need. For a long time, my old sponsors would stop saying the magic words that made me feel better and I would drop them, so I’m grateful for the sponsor I have today. Another thing that I’m grateful for is having an active home group; I get to see the majority of the group right in the middle of AA. I get the privilege of throwing out the trash at the end of the meeting and it warms my heart to be able to serve them. I have opportunities to learn there and take what I learn into my everyday life and that is a very important role that a home group plays.