The seventh step in the program of recovery

7. Humbly Asked Him to Remove Our Shortcomings

For years, our greatest character defect and shortcoming was our addiction,
and it has now been suppressed. It’s been arrested and we no longer
suffer from two of addiction’s symptoms: Loss of control after we
start (physical) and an inability to stay away from the first one no matter
how great the necessity or the wish (mental). Our desire to seek a deeper
relationship with our Creator through practical application of The Twelve
Steps treats the third symptom: Restlessness, irritability, and discontentment
(spiritual). But recovery from the spiritual malady is an on-going evolution.
We live in a recovered state because we no longer suffer from the seemingly
hopeless condition of body and mind. If we stop taking the actions required
to live life on a spiritual basis, the diseased internal condition will
return. If it festers long enough, the mind will begin to tell us that
a drink or drug will make things better. Consequently, our addiction to
drugs and alcohol will come out of remission, and we will begin to act
out in our worst defect of character.

Using this logic, it stands to reason the same principle should apply to
all of our defects of character. They can be suppressed by living a spiritual
program of action but like our addiction, if we steer away from the program
they will return and begin to run the show.
The Big Book states that selfishness and self-centeredness are at the root of our problem
and they are two of our worst shortcomings. The book also states that
we can’t reduce our self-centeredness much by wishing or trying
on our own power. We must have God’s help. So, we can’t remove
our character defects or practice the opposite of our defects, but what
we can do is live the way of life described in
The Big Book. This basis of life, or foundation, creates an existence in which being
selfish, indignant, self-absorbed, narcissistic, and judgmental is not
conducive to the new way of life, sobriety, or freedom. All we can do
is humbly offer myself to our Creator and ask him to remove what we find
objectionable about our character. Refinement of our character is left
up to Him and how He lives through us.

Step Seven is Step Three with teeth. Not only are we abandoning ourselves
to Him and agreeing to be a testimony of His Power in our lives, but we
are conceding that God can and will change or remove anything that stands
in the way of us being useful to Him. The reality is, some of our most
glaring defects make us attractive and useful to others. So, they may
or may not be removed, especially if we do not find them objectionable.
In the end, our defects bring us full circle and sit us back down at the
table with God. What immense grace and mercy, our very struggles keep
us seeking God.