I’ve been thinking & analyzing the word shame. Shame is such an ugly word. It thrives in the dark places refusing to come out because then you have to confront those embarrassing memories or feelings that brought on your shame. Left undealt with, it quietly grows and festers until it becomes such a heavy burden on one’s life, it infiltrates everything including your relationships. You don’t realize it until you find yourself angry at everything & everyone, lashing out for no reason or crying feeling depressed and hopeless. Shame is the feeling of a loss of honor, but we don’t have to be ashamed because we are redeemed by God. While learning who I am in Christ (which I thought I already knew but never applied) I realized God is a redeemer and completely cleanses us. He acknowledges what we did or what happened to us as wrong and loves us despite it and renews us. But, we continue living as if we need to make up for our loss or mistakes & try to win God’s acceptance. God already accepts & loves us, it’s who He is. He’s already forgiven and forgotten our mistakes. He doesn’t hold what’s happened to us against us. He loves us through them! Although it hurts, it’s so freeing to confront what caused that shame and give it to God, then trust Him that we are redeemed & don’t need to feel that shame anymore or think we’re not good enough or deserving of things because of our past. We are more than enough and deserve the best! Don’t ever forget it!

How do you deal with shame? Have any tips? I would love to hear about them!