Step Seven - Humbly asked him to remove our shortcomings. From: Paths to Recovery pg. 73 (copyright 1997, by Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. Limited use by express written permission of Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc.) It is important to remember that all our defects will probably not disappear immediately. We will always fall short of perfection: that's part of being human. Even after repeatedly praying for their removal, we will find that old behaviors and thinking may stay with us. Recovery is a process, and there is no quick fix for what ails us. Fortunately, Al-Anon reminds us to be gentle with ourselves and to turn to our Higher Power for help, again and again. This is true humility. It can be a hard lesson, but we will learn to have compassion for ourselves and others. To change, we need to accept ourselves as we are, stubborn shortcomings and all. Our Higher ower knows better than we do the extent and timing of each change that is right for us. How is Step Seven working for you? Love - Dot

Step Seven certainly is a prosess in my journey to recovery - and it hasn't been easy. Like Step Three where I turned my will and my life over, I asked my Higher Power to remove my shortcomings and then promptly let my self-will take over again. Step Seven has become a daily habit for me because if I am not conscious of my defects and if I think I can change them without help from my Higher Power they rear their ugly heads and take away my serenity. My serenity is as important for me as sobriety is for the alcoholic. So for me self-will can be dangerous if not tempered with the 12 Steps. Love in Recovery - Dot

Paths to Recovery:  Step Seven:"Recovery is a journey not a destination."

On this journey, I have learned about true Humility, "balancing God's responsibility with my responsibility so we can be a team"  I learned about what was my responsibility and what wasn't - I felt the oversense of responsibility for everything - the blame for all things wrong in the lives of the people I cared about.  Apologizing for everything that was wrong in their lives.  So many times I said "I'm sorry" over and over again for things that I really had nothing to do with - why would I continue to accept the blame for something that wasn't about me? 

If I continued to apologize for everything wrong, then I continued to feel badly about myself and feed that low self-esteem - which allowed myself not to be treated with respect and then I would have resentments to everyone around me.  Who had to stop this cycle?  ME! - No one was asking me to apologize for everything - this was my shortcoming - I needed my Higher Power's help in removing this defect of character.

Asking for the removal of my shortcomings can open the door for my Higher Power to heal me of many layers of pains that will lead to maturity and growth in the process of recovery and in my relationship with my Higher Power.

Thanks for letting me share,

Rita

 

hi Dot and Rita , good topic ... I guess we'd need an element of self will , but it's also that quality is one of the things that brings us to Alanon though you could say ... it seems that if we imbibe alot of the programme that this need is reduced to more normal proportions , becoming a bit more relaxed. And as you say too Rita , there is humility in moving away from other peoples problems sometimes , From: Paths to Recovery pg. 72 (copyright 1997, by Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. Limited use by express written permission of Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc.) Humility , the state of being humble , is often misunderstood, it is not a state of weakness , but of strength. It does not mean inferiority , resignation or submission , these imply that we are still resisting our need for help. In humility we possess self-esteem , accept ourselves as we are, assets and defects alike , and extend the same acceptance to others. We are learning to recognize humilty in others , we are attracted to them and we learn from them. llol Vickyr x