May 8, 2023

What shame are you struggling with?  What shame do you want to let go of?

In Journey Church’s “My Life’s a Mess” series, people who were a part of the in person service last Sunday placed in trash cans cards on which they’d written the shame they want to get rid of with God’s help.  Here’s some of what they wrote:

I’m letting go of the shame . . .

Of my addiction

Of the ways I’ve treated others unfairly in the past

Of judging people

Of my extramarital affair

Of my financial failure

Of being molested

Of trying to be somebody I’m not

Of fighting with my sister

Of my behavior after my return from Viet Nam

Of giving up

Of my abortion years ago

Of hurting those I love

Of past bad decisions

Of my spouse’s drinking

Of inconsistency in my business

Of my past failures

Of not knowing how to repair my relationship with my wife

Of my unforgivingness

When you experience shame, remember the teaching of scripture:

See what amazing love the Father has given us!  Because of it, we are called children of God.  And that’s what we really are!  1 John 3:1a (NIRV)

For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:2b (CSB)

-Michael