Step 4

Hello my name is Travis, I am a grateful believer in Jesus and I struggle with dipping and gambling.  You might ask why anyone would want to write about the 4^th step.  Step 4:  We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

For me this was the best step.  It was the step that I tried my whole life not to do.  This step made me get real with myself, God and someone I trusted.  I wore so many different masks throughout my life; however, this step forced me to be real.  This step made me think of every person, place, or thing that was good and bad in my life. 

I completed my inventory by evaluating my life in four stages:  Elementary, Middle and High School, College, and the years I have been married.  By using these stages I was able to concentrate only on that time instead of jumping around my whole life.  As I wrote down on paper the good and the bad things I had done it was a humbling experience.  So, these four stages helped me stay focused and balanced.

 

I have done my fourth step four times now.  I truly try to think back to these four stages of life and see if there was anything I missed.  I try to not have any secretes untold to myself, God or my sponsor.  Having a good sponsor is a critical key to completing this step; so, select your sponsor wisely.  

If you haven’t done a fourth step you need to.  It is one of many ways in the recovery process that will change not only your heart but your mind as well. 

Grateful believer,

Travis