Step 8, continued ~ Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and become willing to make amends to them all:   Asking for forgiveness

Once we have made our list of those people whom we have hurt, we must prayerfully and humbly reach toward Jesus Christ and ask Him for the courage to approach each of these people.  I like the use of the words become willing.  That, like everything else in this process is in itself, a process -  becoming.  There may be people on that list whom we know love us.  While approaching them may be difficult, even embarrassing, we feel confident that they will forgive us.  But there will be others on the list with whom we are estranged, people from whom we feel no love and acceptance.  Do we still need to attempt to approach these people?  Yes, we do.  That is where the Savior comes in.  He can give us the courage to do what needs to be done.

Some people may offer their forgiveness quickly.  Others may take more time.  Still others may never offer forgiveness and, in fact, may be filled with animosity and anger toward us.  But as much as we might desire their forgiveness, their forgiveness is not the object.  The goal is to clean out those dark corners of our own souls.  When we have done that honestly and humbly, then whether or not they forgive us becomes a moot point.  We wish they could, but we can go on with our spiritual healing without them.

This step talks about amends.  This means we have to do more than ask for forgiveness.  Saying "I'm sorry" is a cheap price to pay when you get right down to it.  We need to do whatever we can to make the situation better.  If we took, something, we give it back; if we broke something, we offer to fix it.  There will be many things we cannot fix, but we must be willing to do so if at all possible.  That is the key.

 

One final person who needs to be on the list is you.  We need to ask forgiveness of ourselves for the things we have done.  Then, we need to forgive ourselves.  This is perhaps the most difficult person of all.  Try to remember that you have come a long way from where you were before step one. Ask jesus Christ for help on this step today and the journey ahead.  He will help because He forgives the penitent soul.