"We are grateful that we were made so welcome at meetings that we felt comfortable."
Basic Text p. 80
Remember how scared we were when we walked into our first NA meeting? Even if we walked in with a friend, most of us recall how difficult it was to attend that first meeting. What was it that kept us coming back? Most of us have grateful memories of the welcome we were given and how comfortable that made us feel. When we raised our hand as a newcomer, we opened the door for other members to approach us and welcome us.
Sometimes the difference between those addicts who walk back out the door of their first meeting, never to return to NA, and the addicts who stay to seek recovery is the simple hug of an NA member. When we have been clean awhile, it's easy to step back from the procession of newcomersafter all, we've seen so many people come and go. But members with some clean time can make the difference between the addict who doesn't return and the addict who keeps coming back. By offering our phone numbers, a hug, or just a warm welcome, we extend the hand of Narcotics Anonymous to the addict who still suffers.
Just for today: I remember the welcome I was given when I first came to NA. Today, I will express my gratitude by offering a hug to a newcomer.
It was verily the love and care of the fellowship, the oldtimers whose presence I was blessed with at that point in time. Back then when I was struggling to make it clean on a daily basis, their love for me was completely unconditional. They kept calling on me, visiting me, spending time with me, taking me out to the fellowship hang-outs. They accepted me with all my faults and flaws clearly with an understanding that they have been there too and have done it all too... that was so reassuring for me. It was an attraction to go back to a meeting again and again and to meet these amazing people, still is...
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"If we do an honest examination of exactly what we are giving, we are better able to evaluate the results we are getting."Chapter 10 - Emotional Pain - NA Way of Life.