The Shared Experience

Early December 2002, my wife and I attended a conference for Alcoholics Anonymous at Myrtle Beach, SC. Neither of us are alcoholics but we used the opportunity to spend some time with a family member who we both enjoy being with him and his family.  He has been involved in the program for a number of years and his life has been positively influenced to a very noticeable degree.     During the course of the weekend, we socialized and enjoyed ourselves and several times, he left to hear the various speakers at the conference.  Several offers were made to go with him but I felt a reluctance to intrude on something I was not a part of.  I finally took him up on one of his invitations and attended a meeting where the keynote speaker happened to be a homeboy from Massachusetts.  It was an interesting coincidence as we had a lot of things in common.  The speaker gave what I considered to be his testimony relating to his alcohol problem.  As my wife is fond of saying, this is just background for what I really want to say.     There were about six to eight hundred people in the auditorium at the session I attended.  They were all ages, both sexes, many ethnic backgrounds of various social and economic levels and all kinds of occupations represented.  Most seemed friendly and gregarious.  I was greeted and welcomed by several folks who wore nametags with their first names only on the tags.  I felt an immediate acceptance even though I did not share the one thing the majority of the people in the room had experienced first hand, an addiction to alcohol.     They had certain rituals and buzzwords that they all knew about but they freely shared explanations so that I did not feel excluded.  They were very supportive of each other.  They recognized the person who had been sober the longest (42 years) and gave him a nice ovation.  They also recognized the person who had been sober the shortest (3 days). He was also given an equal ovation.  The attitude was acceptance, encouragement, fellowship, all based on the one thing they all shared in common.  There was no judgment, no criticism, or regarding one person superior to another, one was not better or worse than another, only the understanding that comes from a shared experience.         As the night progressed, I became aware that the Higher Authority in their 12-Step program had been realized by many to be the One and Only God of the Universe, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Father of Jesus.  Throughout their ordeals with sobriety many had come to know The Savior, maybe not all but many including our relative.  It is viewed as a wonderful program with many success stories of people rescued from an awful addiction to alcohol, the focal point of the common thread in their lives.     I did not realize how profoundly affected I would be by the whole AA conference.  I started to think about the shared experience and the beneficial changes that AA had made in the lives of so many people based only on this single experience.  There was so much brotherhood, acceptance, understanding and encouragement and all because of what they shared in common.     It made me think of a shared experience I have with millions of others, the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Would it not be great if I could get together with a few others who know the Lord and share it in an environment of understanding, love, encouragement and non-judgment?  I could just share how an All Powerful, Almighty God sent His Son to die on a cross for me.  It is awesome that I know He would have done it if I were the only one that was ever born.  How amazing are the changes He has made in my life, the things He has taught me and the way He has helped me change my priorities.     There are so many other things related to my conversion I want to share.  When do I get the opportunity to share them with others who have the same experience?  I want to share with young and old, male and female, all colors, all ethnic groups, rich and poor, intelligent and not so intelligent, beautiful people and not so beautiful people.  Where can I share and not worry about how I look, what I wear, how I act, where I can be myself and not wear a different face, and not worry about offending someone because of my slant on the shared experience?  AA focuses on one thing and they seem to do it very well.  Why do we not focus on One Thing, our Risen Savior and put away the things if the flesh and be so focused on Jesus that nothing else will hinder us from relating to each other?  We could relate with acceptance, encouragement, fellowship, friendship and love with no condemnation, only understanding and acceptance as a result of that shared experience.Bob   -   Crushed Petals   09/29/2003
Crushed Petals

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