Thank heavens for Step Seven: It means you’re more than halfway through the steps!
Nestled between the major sobriety moments of Steps Four & Five (personal inventory) and Steps Eight and Nine (making amends), Steps Six and Seven sometimes seem like more of a rest stop along the way to recovery. Some sponsors even lump them together and work both at once! But working the steps is a matter of life or death, and each one is equally important to your success.
We already told you how to navigate Step Six in a previous post, so you should be fully prepared to execute Step Seven: Humbly asked Him [God or another Higher Power] to remove our shortcomings.”
Like Step Six, this is a step that requires less direct action and more willingness, openness, and patience.
It means giving up your self-reliance and practicing humiliity. Acknowledging that you aren’t perfect, and that only a Higher Power can truly help you experience the spiritual transformation that will make you a better person over time. It’s a step that you might have to work almost daily for the rest of your recovery.
How do you “work” humility? There’s probably no better way than prayer, and there’s even a prayer specifically for this step: “My Creator, I am now willing that you should ahve all of me, good and bad. I pray that you remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength as I go out from here to do your bidding.”
Starting your day with this reflection will prepare you for Step Eight and a sucessful life in recovery.
To find out how to work this step and build a life of recovery, contact us today!