The Value of a Spring-Cleaning Inventory

By Scott Kemp – Celebrate Recovery North Central Regional Director

“For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills” (Deuteronomy 8:7 NLT).

I get excited about springtime. The sun gets warmer and flowers begin to poke through the soil that’s been loosened by the cold, snowy winter. An inventory of tasks begins to take shape in the form of window and screen cleaning, sweeping out the grit from the garage floor, touchup painting, and moving lawn furniture out to the patio. All taking place in preparation for a fresh, new season. Exciting, right?

The fourth step—a personal inventory—is a little bit like spring-cleaning because it can prepare us for a fresh, new season!

However, for many people, it’s their least favorite step. It involves the things we don’t want to do: Face our past, our mistakes, our scary thoughts, our emotions, and our current problems. Though it can be scary, it’s still one of the most important steps in recovery.

Addiction and compulsive behavior are merely symptoms of underlying inner conflict. While working a recovery program, you can face your internal issues. This step is done with your sponsor, and the key is honesty. This step leads to new perspective on the bigger picture. We learn more about how we think and act and see our lives in a new light. We gradually realize that only we can change ourselves and not others. This helps us to move forward without fear and allows us to embrace a new, healthier self-image.

The value of the inventory process increases with consistency. To some degree, we ought to do an inventory every day. Occasionally, we ought to take a deeper look, like a spring-cleaning.

A commitment to honest, personal inventory will lead to new freedom and new happiness.