Placed Where I’m Needed
At a recent young people’s recovery event, I had a Higher Power moment that I will not forget.
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At a recent young people’s recovery event, I had a Higher Power moment that I will not forget.
It was the end of a long weekend filled with meetings, fellowship, and constant reminders of the past. I had less than six hours of sleep total. I was physically exhausted and emotionally drained, and it felt like everything was trying to pull me down as far as possible. I was overwhelmed and just trying to hold myself together.
Right at the end, someone came up to me who was clearly distraught. They told me they had walked away from two kids they knew for seven years through a past relationship. They were heartbroken and overwhelmed. They could not reach their sponsor or any of their usual contacts and did not know what to do. I was able to sit down with them and talk.
I told them they needed to put everything down on pen and paper so they could sort through the emotions and see things more clearly. Then they asked me what I would do.
What came out of me did not feel planned. It felt given.
I told them those two girls have only known men walking away from their lives without explanation. The healthiest thing they could do for those girls would be to explain why they walked away, to make sure the girls knew it was not their fault, and to remind them of the good memories they all shared that would never be forgotten.
As I said it, the moment floored me.
All weekend I had been spiritually and emotionally worn down. Yet in that exact moment, I felt clarity and purpose. It reminded me that the difficulty I was feeling was only for today, not forever. Being able to help someone else pulled me out of my own thoughts and reminded me why service matters so much.
That person was placed in my path for a reason.
Experiences like this are why it is so important for me to attend these events as much as possible. You truly have no idea where you will be placed in this life or how you might be used to help someone else. When I stop focusing on myself and try to be helpful to another person, I am practicing the kind of service our program teaches in Step Twelve, and I am supporting the spirit of unity that keeps our fellowship strong.
If my intentions are pure and I stay willing, I believe my Higher Power will continue to place me exactly where I am meant to be so I can be useful.
And for that, I am grateful.
—Anónimo