One day in a quiet suburban neighborhood, a meeting of two friends becomes a life-saving opportunity to reach out
A dear AA friend and former sponsor and I decided to have lunch together. She had been a support to me for many years and had sponsored me through very difficult times, including the death of my beloved husband. Our lives had taken somewhat different turns as we both remained active in the program, sponsoring women and helping give back to AA. Because of our busy schedules, it was several weeks before we could find a good time to meet.
I had been struggling and overwhelmed because my second marriage was abruptly ending, this time not due to the disease of cancer, but rather as a direct result of the disease of addiction. Sheepishly, I asked my friend if she would mind coming to my home, which was a bit of a distance from the city in which she lived and in an outlying county. In true form and without hesitation, she happily agreed. Not only did she agree to come out, but she offered to bring lunch.
I had much to accomplish, but I knew that my time with her was important as a part of the fellowship of the program and the next right thing for me to do. When she arrived we enjoyed the comfort of each other’s company for a while as I explained my situation and she listened intently. What may have felt like an ordinary lunch to her was a powerful reminder that my Higher Power knows exactly what I need and when I need it.
My dear friend, noticing the beautiful day, suggested a walk. As she and I strolled and talked in my quiet suburban neighborhood, we were surprised when we saw a mildly disheveled young man on the other side of the street. He was walking and crying as he spoke on his cell phone. He was clearly upset and looked quite out of place amidst the well-manicured lawns. We heard him talking to someone about “trying to stay sober one more day,” and that he was “not sure where to go or who to talk to.” We looked at each other as if to say, “Are you hearing what I’m hearing?”
We continued to walk a bit more and could still hear the desperation in the young man’s voice. My friend looked at me and said out loud what we both had been thinking, “We have to help.” She ran after him, saying, “We can help you. We can help you. Stop!” By this time the young man was a fair distance away and she ran to catch up to him. He turned toward her and said into the phone, “Hey Mom, a lady is running and calling after me.” When my friend caught up with him, she explained that we were sober and wanted to help. She asked the young man if she could speak with his mom. He handed over his cell phone. “Ma’am, we can help your son, if he would like,” she said confidently.
After the call my friend asked the young man to have a seat. Remarkably he had a Big Book sticking out of his backpack. Intuitively, she asked him to take it out and we sat on the curb and read “How it Works,” as this young man cried and moved his lips in synchrony with hers. A calmness descended; the grandeur of the holy spirit’s presence and the power of the program infused the situation. “We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.” I was in awe and began quietly sobbing too.
I watched as my friend went to her car and after a brief time came back with a plan. She had called a car service, and made arrangements for this young man’s transportation and admission to a local treatment facility where he could get the acute help he needed.
After the car showed up and the destination was confirmed, the driver commented, “Oh, I know that place! I got sober there 10 years ago.” He then said to the young man, “Come up here with me, buddy, and sit in front.” We all hugged and, as the two of them drove away, we remembered a promise made and shouted after the car, “Call your mother!”
My friend and I sat down on the porch, and emotions welled as we processed the magnitude of the situation. This was our Higher Power doing for all of us what we could not do for ourselves.
Several months later, my friend told me that she saw this young man at an AA meeting. This time, instead of desperation, she saw in him joy and serenity.
My dear sister in sobriety showed me how to jump in and serve others without hesitation that day. My problems took on a new perspective. I’ve been given this priceless gift of sobriety and need to always remember to give it away to keep it. This is the program of AA in action. This was a not-so-ordinary lunch!