Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
To recap, the Twelve Steps help us apply these Gospel truths: Peace with God, Peace with Ourselves, and Peace with Others. In Steps 1-3, we decided to trade anxiety for peace through surrender. In Steps 4-7, we identified what we need to surrender: our thing beneath the thing. We humbly asked God to remove it. In Step 8, we assess the harms of our past so we can look toward the future in Steps 9-12.
In this step, we will make three lists: hurts inflicted on ourselves, people who have hurt us, and people we have hurt. As over-functioners, we often come to the crucial realization that the person we have harmed the most with our unwanted behaviors is ourselves. We decide if we are willing to make a conscious decision to honor our needs, set boundaries, and treat ourselves with the same grace we would offer to others.
Verses for Meditation
- “Let us examine our ways and test them. Let us return to the Lord.” Lamentations 3:40
- “The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.” Proverbs 20:5
- “For the spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7
Power Hour Auburn 