The Twelve Steps of Co-Dependents Anonymous: Step Seven

Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.

This step may be the most powerful of the twelve.

Step Seven is where I admitted my powerlessness and consciously asked God to be my Higher Power. Yes, I'd wrecked my life. Yes, I'd hurt many people, including myself. Yes, I was powerless to change on my own. Yes, God was powerful enough to transform me and salvage my life.

Humbleness is an attitude of the heart, a posture of the heart. Humbleness recognizes a higher power and defers (lets go) to that higher power, rather than demanding equality. Humbleness is the opposite of pride.

Up to this point, I'd proudly and erroneously assumed equality with God concerning my own life. Now, I was ready to let God be God. I was ready to be the follower rather than the leader. I was ready for God to remove my shortcomings, rather than attempting to remove them myself or by my own willpower. I was ready to stop fighting God and start yielding to God. I was ready to stop defying God and start trusting God.

By changing my heart's posture and my attitude, I placed my life once and for all in God's hands. If I was going to be changed, it would be through God's power and in God's time.

This step occurs daily for me. Every day I must set aside pride and remind myself that I am not my own higher power, that I am no one else's higher power. Each day, I renew my humbleness before God.

As the priest in the movie Rudy said: "There is a God and I am not Him."

Step Seven is consciously contacting God and asking for help. That is the humbleness Step Seven requires of me.

next: The Twelve Steps of Co-Dependents Anonymous Step Eight