Step Nine

The Ninth Step In The Program Of Recovery

9. Make Direct Amends to Such People Whenever Possible, Except When to Do So Would Injure Them or Others

Up to now we have been walking hand in hand with a recovered sponsor on a path to freedom. We have developed a close bond with another person in the program and have hope that this program will work for us too. We have begun to have spiritual experiences, but the time has come for us to take actions which will propel me into the world of the Spirit.

We’ve admitted powerlessness and conceded that God is everything. We have turned our will over and made an honest inventory of our lives. We’ve shared those often painful details with another person. We have made a list of our defects and asked God to remove them. We now have a list of those whom we have harmed and are now willing to face each and every one of them to make right our wrongs. We cannot do this on our own power. We have to have God’s help.

This is the step where we begin to walk hand in hand with our higher power. It has been our experience that the amends which required the most humility are the ones that have brought about the most freedom. We have been delusional most of our lives. The steps shed light on that delusion, and the 9th step has freed us from so much of it.

As we continue to seek God on this path to freedom and truth, we pray that more freedom from delusion will come. This may require more discomfort and increased humility as our spirits continue to awaken, but we can thank God for that gift. The humbler and more willing we are to face our fellows and right our wrongs, the more freedom we live in and the closer to our Creator we get to be.

– Anonymous