“Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.”
At The Men’s Home, July is a time for humility—not the heavy kind, but the kind that frees you. Step 7 is simple in language but deep in practice. It asks each man to take a quieter posture: not to fix everything at once, not to strive or control—but to ask, and to trust.
As the Twelve and Twelve reminds us, this step is about making a true change in attitude. It’s where we finally stop trying to force life to work on our terms. We begin to understand that the shortcomings we’ve clung to—resentments, pride, fear—aren’t just personality quirks. They’re roadblocks. Step 7 is where we ask for them to be removed—not by force of will, but by grace.
In daily reflections and morning meditations this month, residents are exploring what it means to be “ready to move out from ourselves,” as Bill W. described it. That doesn’t mean we become passive. It means we stop wrestling with the wrong enemy. We let go of the exhausting pressure to fix ourselves perfectly, and we begin to open up to something greater.
At The Home, Step 7 shows up in small moments. A man apologizes quickly instead of stewing in pride. Another stays quiet during a disagreement—not to avoid it, but because he no longer needs to win. Someone else finds, for the first time, that he can laugh at his past with compassion instead of shame. These are the seeds of transformation.
As Bill W. wrote in 1940, recovery is about far more than just putting down the drink. It’s about undergoing a “profound personality change.” Step 7 marks the moment when that change becomes possible—not because we try harder, but because we’ve learned to ask for help.
“It has often been said of A.A. that we are interested only In
alcoholism. That is not true. We have to get over drinking in
order to stay alive. But anyone who knows the alcoholic
personality by firsthand contact knows that no true alky ever
stops drinking permanently without undergoing a profound
personality change.”— BILL W., LETTER, 1940
This step isn’t about perfection—it’s about progress. And every bit of progress at The Men’s Home is made possible by the support of our community. Your donations give the men here space to grow in humility, together.
