I’m a weirdo, I guess, because I love doing OA service. When I was a newcomer, our Intergroup (IG) had Super Saturday events every month. These would often be sponsored by different meetings. During the lunch break, we would have the monthly IG meeting. I sat in once and was hooked. I loved the laughing and the banter as much, if not more than the business stuff. And I admired these people of the IG who had what I wanted. They had a love for OA and a commitment to abstinence. That enthusiasm is contagious!
As soon as I had met the abstinence requirement, they found me a job. Imagine that! You don’t have to look very hard to find opportunities for service! Fast forward about 16 years, and I’m at the Region 5 assembly as the Representative for my new Intergroup, listening to and voting on proposals, getting updates on what is happening in other states and with the World Service Office (WSO), and being amazed at all it takes to run this ship. It felt very personal. If I don’t do my share to keep this miracle of OA going, it could be all gone tomorrow. And then, oh boy would I be in trouble! My previous Intergroup had disbanded, sadly. Let’s not forget that Region 4, also, disbanded. I could not have imagined that we’d lose a Region! So, that’s why I stepped up. As our Responsibility pledge states, “…I am responsible.”
During this two day assembly, I met so many smart, dedicated OAs! Here’s a group of people who know how important this OA service is, and they are willing to do the work to keep OA Region 5 going and to make it even better. It’s like the old-timers in my first meetings told me, “Stick with the winners, win with the stickers!” There are so many long time members serving here at Region! If I want to be a “sticker”, too, then this is a good place for me to be!
I was there to learn and work, but I found out I also there to laugh! We had a good time getting to know each other, and I feel like I have a bunch of new OA friends in the two committees that I chose to work with. I have a tendency to be too serious, and I needed some people in my life who are more relaxed and lighthearted than I am. Here, I found them! They were quick to include me in the fun of working together. They’re helping me to love doing service even more! In the long run, it is the loving friendships that we make with other compulsive overeaters that truly keep us coming back. At least, that’s what’s working for me.
Norma B, Southwest Michigan Intergroup
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