Wondrous Experiences

I write this with mixed feelings because by the time this is published, I will have stepped down not only as chair but also from my intergroup. The reason is a positive one: I was elected to another service position as a general service trustee of the OA Board of Trustees. Because of this, I will be doing service at that level.

Thinking back, I have attended my intergroup since 1990, and I hated my first meeting! It wasn’t an OA meeting; it was a business meeting with treasurer and secretary reports. But, I wanted to be with other people so I would not overeat compulsively that night.

Since that first meeting, I have kept coming back and come to love intergroup meetings. We discuss different ways to spread the OA message to people inside and outside the halls of OA. I’ve also loved all the many wonderful people I have worked with, and some are now my closest friends.

Had I not been encouraged to attend that first intergroup meeting years ago, I would have missed out on many wondrous experiences: planning and attending OA events; learning to work and live the OA Steps and Traditions when working with others; and, yes, even appreciating and understanding the treasurer’s report. The bottom line is I would have missed out on a multitude of opportunities for me to grow and recover within this magnificent program!

I will be eternally grateful to my Higher Power and sponsor, who suggested I attend intergroup. And now, I suggest to each of you that you attend an intergroup meeting. Admittedly, it is not for everyone, but you never ever know until you attend, just as when you attended that first or second OA meeting! A whole new world, an unbelievable experience, may be waiting for you.

For me, service is a blessing, privilege, and honor to give back what I have been given throughout my OA life, especially as I think of all the wonderful people I’ve met and worked with through the years.

So now I’m moving on to do other service within OA. Yes, I am excited, and also scared and overwhelmed! But then, I was when I first attended intergroup. Today I know that my Higher Power will be helping me, as he always has!

The good news for me is that I still can and will do service at the meeting level— this is OA’s highest level of service! OA meetings are at the top of OA’s structure. OA will continue to thrive and be alive as we all offer service at our local meetings. See and talk with you there!

— Edited and reprinted from Sharings newsletter, North Shore Intergroup, June 2012