August 8
A Place to Lend a Hand
We may wait to volunteer until our life looks more convincing. There are Steps still to understand, doubts we hesitate to mention, and days when we feel barely fit to receive help. Surely service belongs to people with firmer footing. Meanwhile, somebody needs a hand putting away the chairs, a task for which our unresolved questions pose no particular obstacle.
An ordinary contribution can let us belong before we feel accomplished. It need not imply expertise or readiness for every responsibility. We can choose something suited to where we actually are and be honest about what we do not know. Step Twelve makes room for the newest member to give what is available. Helping with a small task can interrupt the belief that we must become an improved version of ourselves before our presence has anything useful to offer.
What available contribution am I postponing until I feel more qualified as a person?
There may already be something I can help with.
For the A.A. nerds: Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Step Twelve, pp. 109–110.