Stepping Outside – Step Five (Part 1)

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When I was doing the fifth step in the 12-step program, I had no problem whatsoever talking to God and to myself, but I dreaded the day when I would have to speak with someone else about my character defects. Well, I guess dread is a strong word. After the first four steps, especially steps number two and three, I really did feel a power that I had never felt my life. By the fifth step I was beginning to feel confident and I felt that God truly did love me.

As a reminder, my version of step five following: “I admitted to God, to myself, and to another human being, the exact nature of my wrongs”.

It is the third part of this step that will come into play as I leave my day-to-day life

according to the 12 steps, my Spirit, the will of God. We are told in the literature that by the time we complete these 12 steps, we have in our arsenal the actual power of God! We are told that the thing that was originally our problem, at least the thing that we thought was our problem, is no longer even in the picture. We simply do not have time for it in this new way of life. We are too busy living according to our Spirit, and believe me our Spirit usually has some wild stuff in store for us, (at least, that was the case for me).

This step implies for me, in my day-to-day life, that I could, without fear, or to others about overcoming whatever it is that we overcame. Because I had God’s strength, I spoke of my recovery without fear or guilt. It was like the whole world became a huge meeting and I was there to tell everyone my story. I cannot begin to tell you how rewarding it is to be able to give back what I was so freely given.