It’s always been easier for me to hide. Whether it’s behind a smile, my achievements, the opinions of others or the reality that I’m an introvert. It seemed easier that way. But the Lord, in His goodness, has a way of forcing us to come out of hiding.
I’m learning that hiding our failures, fears, sense of inadequacy and insecurities may not bring Him glory the way authenticity can. Because when we’re real about who we are and how much we need Jesus, He receives the glory instead of us!! Amen?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve shyed away from being the center of attention. I was that child who would hide behind a family members’ legs when someone came to visit, merely nod and mumble when I was spoken to. It seriously pained me to make eye contact and utter a simple “hello.”
Fast forward forty years or so and I’m often placed in situations where I’m speaking, facilitating or sharing our story.
My husband and I are deep in the trenches of parenting our biological son and two adoptive daughters. We are learning so much about trauma-based relational intervention.
At the core of trauma is shame. Shame is an intensely painful feeling of unworthiness that tells us we’re somehow flawed or don’t belong, (a flat out lie according to who God’s word says we are!) It’s impact can be devastating.
I recognize carrying around shame has been way too familiar for me and, unknowingly, a contributor to my own hiding. Trauma is often but not always the cause. We live in a broken world.
Many times, the last thing people riddled with shame want is to stand out or somehow be labeled as “different” for fear of being criticized or rejected. But oh! how the Lord can use our experiences to catapult us on our journey to healing! This has been and continues to be my experience.
In July of 2010, five years into our marriage, the Lord blessed my husband and I with the most amazing and precious gift of a son. He is seriously a blessing beyond words. Being chosen as his mother still humbles me. It also placed us right in the middle of being “different”, as we parent a child with special needs and all that entails.
Then in 2020, the Lord called us to adopt older sibling girls with their own special needs that often leave me scratching my head and feeling inadequate as a parent. Add to that being an interracial family during a time that our country was (and still is) filled with racial tension and now we’re really standing out!
But I cling to the truth that God is using it all for our good and His glory. He has been too good not to proclaim His faithfulness.
I want to inspire hope by encouraging others to recall God’s faithfulness in their own lives, in the midst of whatever journey they are called to.
PraiStones was launched for this very reason.
Let’s come out of hiding and proclaim “the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” (1 Peter 2:9). We all have a story to tell!
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