Help Amid Your Shame

Dr. Ned Hallowell, a child and adult psychiatrist, writes…

“When I was in the first grade, I had trouble reading. Back then, if you had trouble reading, you could easily be dismissed as stupid, or you could be ridiculed or even punished. But I was very lucky. I had an experienced teacher named Mrs. Eldredge who knew there was more to a first-grader’s reading problem than being stupid or lazy. She knew that, sooner or later, I would start to read and that the most important thing to do for me in first grade was to make sure I didn’t become afraid of reading or start to believe that I was stupid.

So during reading period, this sweet old lady would sit down in one of those little chairs and put her arm around me. When it was my turn to read out loud, I could only stammer and stutter as I tried to make out the words. But none of the other kids laughed at me because I had the Mafia sitting next to me. Mrs. Eldredge’s arm saved me, and it has stayed around me ever since, preventing me from contracting what are the most disabling learning problems of all: fear and shame.”

The potential for shame comes from many sources: public humiliation, rejection, and a devalued sense of worth.  Like Mrs. Eldredge, God believes in us.  No matter how unlovely we feel, God loves us.  In our current sermon series on shame, we have been reminded weekly that God longs to heal us from the unrighteousness that shame causes in our lives.  Healing from shame often requires the counsel of others and a great time investment.  As a result, the freedom God brings when we press through in dealing with our shame is like a great weight lifted off of us.

Come see us Sunday.  We are exposing shame and seeking God’s help to cleanse it from our lives.

Pastor Jeff