STEP SEVEN
July 3, from “Strengthening My Recovery” daily reader
“Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.” BRB p. 217
“As we begin to find peace in ACA, we listen for when the wheels get squeaky and learn to seek appropriate help, knowing that we don’t have to do this alone. We see our Higher Power everywhere we go, especially in the people around us in our meetings.
We are no longer fearful. Our shortcomings are being removed and they no longer define us. We are not a collection of wrongs. We realize that recovery is a process -that there is no race to the finish line.
But we don’t take the slow route either. We have sobered up to the grim reality of the effects of dysfunction in our families and have decided we are out of their game. It no longer pays any dividends. We have been on that other side for so long and we simply don’t want to be there anymore. The way we related to the world no longer works.
We see the results of our efforts in recovery, and we like ourselves better as we allow the process to work within us. We begin to attract healthier people, leaving behind the dysfunctional relationships that show no promise. There is nothing better than this new feeling as we move into the future. We are walking out of the fog of dysfunction towards who we truly are.
On this day I will continue on this journey to work with my Higher Power to remove my shortcomings. I choose to be healthy.”
My Experience:
It is said that in working the steps you will experience a spiritual awakening, step seven was definitely part of my spiritual awakening. The act of humbly asking god to remove my shortcomings was so emotionally moving that it will be something that I can never forget. Identifying these defects of character in step six was huge, but step seven deeply affected me in the most profound way. I know that I no longer have to act the way, think the way, or suppress emotions in the way I have for a lifetime. It was such an emotional freeing experience to know that I can now define how I act and see the world. It is scary because for the first time I can walk a path and decide how to walk it instead of taking some predetermined course. But it is freeing to know that I can try something new and continue to tweak until I find the best course for me. I am not trying to be perfect, but I know what I had been doing was not working. So any improvement is a step in the right direction. Thank you Step Seven!!
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