[nandm]

"Humbly asked him to remove our shortcomings."

Steps Six and Seven work in concert. First, we become ready to have our defects and shortcomings removed, and then we put our money where our mouth is, by asking our Higher Power to take the lead in doing the job.

Humility, which essentially gives us the ability to learn, plays a major role in Step Seven. All the preceding steps have led to the uncovering and discovering of our defects. Now we're ready to discard them as part of our quest for recovery.

Our shortcomings are never more clearly defined than when we begin looking at them without guilt. When we accept responsibility for past actions, we need never feel these humiliations again. As we come to understand this, we become even more willing to examine the wreckage of our past, because we know we'll soon be done with it.

Step by Step. Muriel Zink