Rebuke the Shame

So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord . . . . // 2 Timothy 1:8

When my therapist asked me how I was doing that week, I could barely wait to tell her all about my experience as a small group leader at the retreat I attended, focused on ministering to adult children of divorced. From the edge of my seat, I told her about the redemption I had witnessed first-hand in the stories of those in my small group, many of whom were joyfully married despite having walked through the deep pain of abuse and abandonment as children. I left out no detail in defending the elaborate beauty of their stories, each one total evidence of the Lord's fidelity towards us.

My therapist listened to each one carefully and rejoiced in all of the new hope I had discovered in this new community. Then, at the end of our session, she leaned in gently and said, "Sarah, I hope one day you will see the same beauty in your own story that you see in everyone else's."

I was completely leveled. It occurred to me that I had spent our entire session expounding upon the goodness of everyone else's story, and in that, implying that mine was principally inferior.

Isn't it true, that somehow, some way, we manage to see all the ways Lord is showing up for everyone else and not us?

I feel so convicted by a verse from today's Second Reading, "So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord" (2 Timothy 1:8)

Rebuking shame over my testimony has been one of the most monumental battles of my life. My healing journey as a woman started when I began to claim confidence in the Lord's crafting of my narrative—knowing not one ache or groan or sob ever escaped His notice.

Sister, I pray that you would reclaim your testimony today and that you would include every chapter. Above all else, I pray that you will see, and that the Lord will reveal with mighty glory, the beauty in your story that you have seen in everyone else's.

Reclaim your testimony. // Sarah ElizabethClick to tweet

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