Becoming Vulnerable: The Power of Confession

photo by g_sinchon

Draw near to God, and God will draw near to you. - James 4:8

There was a time two summers ago that was nothing out of the ordinary, yet it’s remained in my memory ever since: I had been in a funk—those seasons that inevitably settle upon you for one reason or another. I knew what I needed to do (draw near to God) but my heart just wasn’t in it.

Instead, I decided to meet up with a friend, where I just let it all out. I kept talking and confessing everything that was burdening me and holding me down. And it was in that moment, in that conversation of releasing everything pit up–as hard or lame as some of it is to admit–the weight was lifted.

In Lauren Winner’s book, “Girl Meets God” she talks about how she started going to see a priest routinely to confess her sins, even though she’s not Catholic. She talks about how it’s in God’s nature to take the ordinary and everyday and use it to purify us and draw us closer to him: water gives us new birth in baptism; bread reminds us of the price Jesus paid and brings us close to him in the Eucharist; and God also draws us closer to him when we confess our sins–to ordinary people, just like each and every one of us.

Our inclination is to bottle up our imperfections and smudge over them so no one can tell. Or if we do tell, we tell people who will have the right answers or perhaps the people who are worse off than ourselves. But we don’t want to risk tarnishing our image or our reputation. So our sins cower deep inside. But when we become vulnerable and break down walls and open up about our shortcomings, especially to other ordinary, broken individuals, a surprising bit of healing can come through that.

And that’s what happened on that seemingly insignificant Wednesday, as my friend and I sipped Starbucks and sat on a curb in the parking lot and just talked. As we talked, I could feel my funk lifting, my heart getting inflated again and swelling back up. I came home that night, renewed…

Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you will be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
James 5:16

Related Posts
Life Blessons: The Power of Words: Learning to commend rather than complain
Getting a Pep Talk from God

READ FULL POST >>

Pinpointing the thoughts that hurt us: A book review

In her book, "Every Thought Captive," Jerusha Clark takes the well-known verse that admonishes us to "take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" and helps readers understand what that actually looks like.

Throughout the book, Clark pinpoints some of the most common unhealthy and detrimental thoughts that plague a woman's mind, like those that tell her she's not good enough or thin enough, that it was all her fault and she's always messing up, that she doesn't have enough time or that everything's going to come crashing down any moment.

Often, we think these kinds of thoughts without even being aware of it, but that's where this book comes in handy: By going through each section and the list of lies that Clark identifies, readers can begin to recognize the lies that are most recurrent in their own lives.

For me, that came to life as I read through the section "One More Thing," which looks at our desires for "more" and our temptation to think that this "one more thing" will make us happy--if only temporarily. She gave an example of her search for new black shoes, and how she went shopping everywhere to try to track them down. "I never thought the black shoes would bring me ultimate satisfaction," she writes, "but I certainly thought they would bring me relief from gnawing desire....Sometimes I realize that I've wanted something more than I've wanted God."

This is an episode I know all too well--whether it's searching for the perfect pair of curtains or, ahem, new artwork for my kitchen wall. In doing so, we are putting our satisfaction in things, rather than in God and being satisfied by what he has already given us. She reminds readers that God gives bountifully and without ceasing, meeting all our needs. And it's those kinds of biblical truths I can keep in mind when the lie of "one more thing" pops up--undoubtedly, again and again.

READ FULL POST >>