Diversity Recovery Around the World Service-Based Blessing By admin Posted on June 1, 2019 4 min read 0 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on Reddit Share on Pinterest Share on Linkedin Share on Tumblr A number of years ago, my area had two intergroups with quite a bit of dissension between them. Fortunately, some of the members saw that what they were doing wasn’t working. They had the idea to disband both intergroups and start a new, unified intergroup. Our local fellowship was on board with this idea, and Unity Intergroup was born. I was part of one of the two initial intergroups, and I became involved with the formation of Unity. It was an exciting time. I joined and eventually chaired one of the committees. Ultimately, I rose to the level of my own incompetence and then stepped down. Oh, and did I mention that I lost my abstinence? Recovery had eluded me. At the time Unity Intergroup formed, I was abstinent and enthusiastic about service and carrying the message. But I still hadn’t had the spiritual experience I needed to sustain my recovery. But my service contained a blessing. Because of my involvement with this new, unified entity and because those of us meeting on committees often had lunch together, I met people who worked another, more structured format. I saw what they ate, the prep they did, and the fact that they weighed and measured their food. But the most amazing thing to me was that they were happy! That made a huge impact on me. Then, when I had my spiritual experience “sufficient to bring about recovery” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 567), I adopted many of the practices I had seen. This would not have been possible without Unity Intergroup. Now, our intergroup is flourishing. We have so much enthusiasm for recovery and are doing more and more to carry the message to the still-suffering compulsive overeater. There have been challenges along the way, but that is normal. People are willing to hold issues up to the light of the Traditions and our bylaws and decide what to do. I am incredibly grateful for the First Tradition and for those wise, HP-guided individuals who stepped up and said, “Let’s combine our resources and fix this thing.” I am grateful for myself and on behalf of those members who have been introduced to OA as a result. — Annette
