7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

About now it’s time to either get serious about this 12-step thing or drop it. Do you feel like you’ve been dancing around this for at least a week, maybe more. I don’t think anybody’s rubber is meeting their road, at least mine isn’t. So far this spiritual walk-through of the twelve steps hasn’t cost me anything. Nothing’s changed; and isn’t this supposed to be all about change? Isn’t it about changing the things we are powerless against?

I’m waiting for some real AA people to just knock us over the head here pretty soon and say, “What are you doing? Are you just playing a game? Are we being cute here?”

I will admit to the fact that my interest in the twelve step program has primarily been the model of vulnerability, honesty, and real struggle with one’s life out in the open where everyone can associate with it. I wanted us to get that. But I never intended for it to get this personal. Now I’m realizing we have to change; we have to give up something. I feel like I’m still holding onto my whoopee blanket.

Honestly I haven’t given up anything yet. Have you?

Here’s what I want to propose, and since we are going through this together and you may not be ready for this step, I’m not going to tell you what to do; I’m going to tell you what I’m going to do, and you can decide whether you want to do it with me. I’m going to go over my inventory list and pick out one thing I want out of my life that I am powerless to change — some unhealthy dependency that I want God to remove. Then I’m going to humbly ask Him to remove it.

And then, something that isn’t a step but is an important part of the program: I’m going to find a sponsor — someone who would be willing to hold me accountable to this commitment — someone outside of myself that would be willing to meet with me or talk with me on the phone on a regular basis to see how I am doing, and someone I can call when I’m tempted to give in. And if you don’t have anyone who could be a sponsor for you, let us know. We have people available to step in. Of course, knowing all along that we can do nothing without the Lord, and I don’t mean the Lord’s help, I mean the Lord doing it through us!