First AA Meeting in Germany

Last night I went to my first meeting here in Germany.  It's about 25 minutes from where we live, in a town called Fürth.  They have a literature meeting on Monday night, a Step meeting at 6:30 on Friday, and then a topic meeting at 8 on Friday as well.  I went to the 8:00 meeting, so that I could eat dinner with the family before heading out.  My husband will probably join me for the same meeting next week, as it is open, but we will have to have a babysitter, which we didn't have arranged last night.

It's the first time I've been to a meeting completely by myself, without fellow patients from Valley Hope or a family member, and I guess I was a bit nervous, especially since I didn't know what to expect with a meeting here in Germany and all.  There were about 10 people there including myself, with 2 others being new - so about 7 regulars.  A little small, but a very comfortable number, too.

The meeting went the same as you would expect anywhere else.  The topic was a daily reflection on step 6.  And since it was such a small group, there was plenty of time for people to share, even if they had already shared - in response to someone else, which was nice. 

Step 6 was pretty relevant to me at the moment, as is step 7.  Since I completed steps 4 and 5 in treatment, and have been working steps 6 and 7 every day since then they are very much on my mind - especially now that I am back home, and working on settling back into home life.  It's much easier here at home for my typical triggers to kick off some of my character defects, especially as my husband and I try to pick up where we left off.  Things like impatience and selfishness spring to mind, but I am not at all limited to these defects alone!!

A couple of the comments that were made which were valuable to me last night...

1. It's important to remember that in step 7 God removes our character defects - we don't do it alone, and if we try, we may end up more frustrated than before.  Trying to remove them ourselves does not serenity make.  Be patient and wait on the Lord, etc.  I need to remember to give my defects to God to remove, and be patient with him.  As I mentioned, impatience is one of my defects, and I tend to want things done now!  I need to remember that God will remove these in a perfect way, better than I ever could, and let him be sovereign.

2. It's easy to place expectations on ourselves and others as we work these steps. And when we create expectations we are only setting ourselves up for disappointment.  I need to remember that first I need to get a handle on my sobriety, and then focus on my family.  I need to remember that the attitude and the thinking change the behavior, and that I need honesty of behavior - not forced behavior.

So all in all the meeting was good.  I will go again on Monday night.  I did mention that I need a sponsor, but didn\t hear anything out of anyone, so I will continue praying about that.  They did give me a contact list, so if I do need to call someone I can.  Am thinking that I will pass around a list on Monday to see if anyone is interested... we'll see.  I just don't want to take too long - I know how crucial that is!

Asset for the Day: Faith