Someone recently told me a story that made me think about the gift of sponsorship. A woman, while on vacation abroad in a country where she did not speak a word of the native language, ordered dinner by pointing to the word on the menu she thought said fish based on the waiter’s attempt to communicate what the word meant by pointing to his shoe. She thought, shoe…sole…fish. Logical, right? When the waiter brought out her food, you can imagine her surprise when she saw pigs' feet on her plate!
For me, working the 12 Steps without a sponsor would be like the example above...who knows what I might get, but it probably won't be what I want! My sponsor is my interpreter. She translates the principles of the program, based on conference approved literature, into a language that I can understand. If I don't take the time required (which is always too long for me - I will always crave instant gratification) to listen, learn, process, and pray before I take action, I almost always end up dining on pigs' feet!
I wish everyone availed themselves of a sponsor. I would not have gotten very far without mine.
ReplyDelete