Like Learning to Ride a Bike

I’ve been blessed over the years to have sponsored a few men who are, to this day, still sober and very good friends of mine. I’ve also had some drop me like a hot rock. But I’ve learned (the hard way, as always) that sponsoring effectively takes time and a patience that only comes with the willingness to change. I believe it’s a relationship that should include mutual respect. After all, aren’t we just as close to the “next drink” as the “newbie” if a certain spiritual awareness isn’t present? I’m also not fond of referring to them as “sponsees.” It projects a grandiose attitude, that I am somehow better just because I happened to stumble into the rooms of AA first. I surely lack the proper humility if this is my attitude toward the new guy. Instead, when I’m introducing them to other AAs, they are simply “good friends” of mine, and I leave the decision to disclose our relationship totally up to them.