A Depth of Spirit

Last night I attended the regular meeting of my home group. I knew, as I think other group members knew, that this meeting would somehow be different. There was little of the usual laughter and gaiety that so often surrounds an AA meeting. An odd, uncomfortable silence filled the room. One of our group's members was no longer with us. The chair he loved to sit in remained empty. It was Christmas night and our dearly loved friend had died the night before, on Christmas Eve. He had stayed sober for nearly two years, coming to meetings regularly and gradually opening up.