Step Three says: "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."
Or Her.
Step Four says: "Made a searching and fearless inventory of ourselves."
This is an action step that involves putting pen to paper as we list our liabilities.
Step Five says: "Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs."
Better this than what John Trowbridge Michael Stebick did. I seriously doubt that FBI agents listened to both Jesters confess and plead guilty to taking illegal alien prostitutes across state lines to Jester parties with a box of tissues on the desk or were willing to hug the former police captain and former Erie County prosecutor, heads hung in ultimate shame.
Step Six says: "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character."
Here is where we turn from the path of death and destruction towards living a life of spiritual growth.
Step Seven says: "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."
We begin to move beyond living lives of self-centered fear and self-will run riot towards living a life of humility.
Step Eight says: "Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all."
It's all about the willingness possessed only by those facing and dealing with the wreckage of our past.
Step Nine says "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."
Ouch. Don't be surprised if the person you confess to blows you off or tells you to go to hell. Remember, those involved with the addict are most likely addicted too. In other words, the only relationships the addict has are primarily with those who enable their behavior and, as such, are dysfunctional and co-dependent. Co-dependency is the flip side of alcoholism and has its own set of destructive behaviors.
Step Ten says: "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it." This helps us work a program of honesty.
Step Eleven says: "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out." The rewards of meditating and praying are meditating and praying.
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