The dance of hiding…

I don’t know why, but most of us have learned to hide….

Hiding is empty–a far cry from the life of abundance and freedom that God created us for. Simon Tugwell wrote, “We hide what we know or feel ourselves to be behind some kind of appearance which we hope will be more pleasing …and in time we may even come to forget we are hiding.”

Wanting to be well-liked and looking for love, I learned from a young age how to hide. I didn’t hide in closets or behind corners but I learned to hide who I was behind a facade of who I though I should be. I learned to play out life in a game of pretend. Soon after becoming a Christian I also hid behind being busy, useful and important to God and others.

Maybe you know that dance too.

But do you know the greater story about your life? If you did, you wouldn’t be hiding, covered in shame, afraid to come out.

Do you know what abundant living is? It is freedom living. A life that is free to move about in the plan that God has for you. It is a life that is free enough to be you, warts and all. It is a life that is free to trust God with all imperfections and areas that need growth.

Trouble is, we live in a world that is anything but free. There are strings and conditions attached to just about everything. We learn young that being just “us”, imperfect us, is probably not good enough. So we begin covering up…we learn to hide who God has created behind a facade that is imitating the culture we live in rather than imitating the life and love of God.

If you are tired of hiding, today, Jesus is calling you into his arms. Hiding is heavy, hard, burdensome. You might be weary from trying to reinvent yourself in each stage of life. Today listen to the call of Jesus, straight to your heart:

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me, Get away with me and you7’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me, watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythm of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28  The Message

This post is from the book Deeper  Revell Books. I wrote this book to tell my story and help women who want to learn more about living in a new reality….the reality of God’s love. Not the cliche version of love, but the true living reality of unconditional love and grace. Truth is, I am still learning daily and will be learning more about God’s love until the day I take my last breath. But since the journey of diving deeper has begun, God has worked His word of Truth into my very being, changing me, one truth at a time, one day at a time, one layer at a time. ( See side bar for information)

Praying that we all learn to live in the unforced rhythms of Grace!

Debbie

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