"I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to You and to my fellows."
One of the quiet gifts of Step Seven is that, as God begins removing our character defects, we start recognizing them in everyday life.
Someone interrupts every conversation. Someone always has to be right. Someone is looking for approval. Someone is carrying around a resentment.
Years ago, we probably wouldn't have thought twice about it because we were doing the very same things.
Today, those moments aren't invitations to judge. They're reminders. We remember where we've been, what it felt like to live that way, and what we were really searching for underneath it all. Most of our defects were trying to protect us from fear, insecurity, loneliness, or pain.
Instead of thinking, "What's wrong with them?" we begin asking, "How can I be helpful?"
Then something beautiful starts to happen. The very defects God has been removing from us become a doorway. They allow us to meet people exactly where they are because we've been there ourselves. We understand the fear because we've lived it. We understand the pride because we've hidden behind it. We understand the resentment because we've carried it.
We don't meet people from above them. We meet them from beside them.
That's one more way God makes us useful to Him and to our fellows. He doesn't waste our past. He redeems it. Our old character defects become bridges instead of barriers, giving us the compassion and empathy to reach out a hand instead of pointing a finger.
When was the last time you replaced judgment with the question, "How can I be helpful?"
