The Gifts of Sponsorship
Laurie, a recovering compulsive overeater, reflects on her gratitude for the gifts that sponsorship brings to Twelve Step recovery.
Laurie, a recovering compulsive overeater, reflects on her gratitude for the gifts that sponsorship brings to Twelve Step recovery.
Want to be a good sponsor? Try starting small with this OA member’s suggestions.
Earlier in her program, Barbara E. says she was “extremely skeptical that I might ever become neutral around the foods that beckoned me or that I’d become a happier, less volatile woman.” But her sponsor persisted in feeding her OA wisdom, and Barbara was desparate, and so she listened. Simply put, Barbara says of her sponsor, “She was right.”
A good sponsor (and there are many good sponsors in OA) can come into your life at a moment’s notice and have a profound effect on our lifelong recovery. One OA member from Pennsylvania USA reflects on the good fortune (and good humor) of a sponsor who recently passed away.
“I pray that Higher Power shows me how to be sponsored and sponsor lovingly, caringly, and honestly,” says Alyson. Read the specifics of how she approaches giving and receiving sponsorship in OA.
Join Tina from Massachusetts USA in reflecting on this question: What if everyone in OA took on one more sponsee and did a little more service? Let’s commit to developing a Fellowship beyond our wildest dreams!
I felt so at ease with people I hardly knew.
A sponsee overflows with gratitude to her sponsor. Read this wonderful poem by Catherine W. from Minnesota USA. “Finally,” she says, ”I am not alone with my fear and grief.”
OA member Glen F. reflects on the imperfect nature of being a sponsor. “Someday I’m going to let you down,” he reflects to his sponsee. Read on and take heart from his heart’s guidance, both spoken and unspoken.