Unashamed

There's a song we sometimes sing and we did this weekend...it's called Unashamed.

I love the chorus: Because of mercy, Because of Your grace, Although I'm unworthy, I stand here unashamed (I may have the words slightly mixed up...age will do that to the mind ;) )

I've been thinking a lot recently about a friend who years ago had someone important to her family drop by her home unexpectedly. She was embarrassed as the place was untidy. (I used to love going to her house because I knew it wasn't just me! LOL)

But she talked about how that incident and a couple other things impacted her. She declared it wouldn't happen again and made her motto: No Shame!

What a great motto!

What a challenge to fight, though, at least for me. I don't need to wear shame like a favorite pair of comfy jeans but too often I do. The enemy loves to throw things in my face.

But God's mercy, God's grace....God Himself is so much bigger than my faults.

That doesn't mean I should abdicate taking responsibility for myself. There are lots of things I need to work on...but I'm not alone. Praise God! I'm not alone.

Shame feels like a desert island. Like I'm stranded without hope and standing isolated and frozen and hopeless in despair.

But because of mercy, because of grace, because of Jesus, I can shout, Go away, Shame! No Shame!

I hope I can follow my friend's example in improving my housekeeping...she is still doing great as far as I know (she lives far away now) but much more than that, I pray I can day by day, moment by moment, reject shame and reject rejection and move into the wholeness of holiness that God has for me....

And that anyone else who might feel stuck on a deserted island will know you are not alone. We can shift our thinking and find our little islands coming together and forming a supportive community. We are not alone! We are loved!

Let's live unashamed!