Upon leaving the World Service Conference my very first year as a Delegate, I felt a sense of gratitude and humility beyond description. Growing up in the family disease of alcoholism, I had never experienced such a consistent commitment to my success and the ongoing well-being of an organization as I did throughout that and all subsequent Conferences. I felt inspired and suddenly in awe of my responsibility as a Delegate to relay not only the great information shared at the Conference, but also to convey the experience—the passion, warmth and dedication. It seemed like a daunting task.
After a few anxious moments, though, I turned again to the foundations of my program to remind me that I don’t have to do anything alone and that my Higher Power would ensure I conveyed the right information. While many of my fellow Delegates had very short timeframes to prepare their thoughts and some had only brief timeslots to give their reports, I felt a sense of gratitude that my Area provided me four hours to share my Delegate’s report and that I had over a month to prepare.
So, I turned my report over to my Higher Power and started to do the footwork. I reached out to my fellow Area Officers to help coordinate members to present and participate in skits. I did my best to make the report a demonstration of how ours is a “we” program. When it was over, and I heard members share that they had come to feel more connected to the work of the World Service Office as “us” rather than a distant “them,” I knew the report was a success.
My time as a Delegate taught me greater reliance upon my Higher Power as I realized it was not possible, even given the four hours provided by my Area to report, to adequately convey all the work that occurs at the Conference to advance the primary purpose of Al‑Anon Family Groups. I had to trust my Higher Power to point me to the right topics. As I have learned in my personal recovery, I needed to pray only for knowledge of His will for Al‑Anon and the power to carry that out. I trust that my Delegate’s report and all other aspects of my role, like my life in recovery, will unfold beyond my wildest imagination! Happy reporting, Delegates!
By Vali F., Executive Director, World Service Office