Naked

Monday Missive #92

A Poem: Naked

Like the first two,
We are naked
And afraid.
Not physically;
Just transparent,
See-through people
We are afraid,
Before God;
Knowing he knows everything,
Knowing he sees all.

Afraid of the world, too.
Of what will happen,
Of what might happen,
Of what will never happen.
Our fear barges in
Even in our faith,
Covering us with doubt.
Smothering us
In our imagination.
So, we try to hide,
From the world,
From God.
But…
We can’t,
We can’t!

Why do we hide?
When he says, 
Come!
I took your shame,
I took your guilt,
Let me love you,
Accept you,
Protect you.

But we keep on
Living in fear;
Guilty!
Ashamed!
Why?

A Prayer: Help Me This Day

Help me, O Lord, this day 
To reveal to you the ugliness in my soul,
for you already know it.
Help me move beyond guilt and shame,
remembering that you took them away.
Help me turn to you with my feelings of anger and frustration,
for you always hear me.
Help me to rely upon your presence and power
to live the way you desire.
Thank you, Lord, for your patience with me. 
Thank you for your faithfulness to me.
Never giving up.
Always present.
Even when I am not.
Amen.

A Passage: For Reflection

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
-- Hebrews 12:1b-2 NIV