-
the fellowship of suffering
What if life is not about trying to be better? What if what matters is becoming present in the midst of it? I’m mulling over the introductory chapters of my preordered copy of K.J. Ramsey’s new book, This Too Shall Last. It is a raw account of learning to sit with pain and suffering so that grace has room to well up in our weakness and speak louder than our shame. It is a message that has arrived in my life at the odd juxtaposition of facing the pain of perfectionism, the shame of singleness, and the inescapable reality of my identity as a writer. In this book, K.J. weaves…
-
Shattered
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus …” Romans 8:1 heralds a gift seemingly too good to be true for all who struggle within the tangle of our own shame. No condemnation? Can that be real?!? We believe, in principle, that God forgives. We find ourselves celebrating without reservation the grace He extends to others. But when it comes to our sin, our transgressions … we somehow suspect we fall outside the reach of His mercy. If we could only, for a moment, look beyond ourselves and see the schemes of the enemy who means to drag us endlessly through the muck of our…
-
Forgiven
I woke today from a disturbing dream, one in which I had fallen again to temptation. I’m thankful it was a dream and not reality, yet it reveals the unrest in my heart. “Be careful if you think you stand, lest you fall.” I am not immune to temptation; forgive me, Abba, for thinking myself stronger than I am. I am so very weak, God … forgive me for once more bowing to self rather than toward Your Spirit. Forgive and cleanse me, Lord. I have nothing to be proud of, no reason to boast; I am fallen, broken, weak, and sinful. Yet You love me! I think of the “sinful woman”…
