Naked & Not Ashamed

In August of 2010, I had this idea that I would begin blogging and share with the world-- or whoever would read --the lessons I learned from my trivial day-to-day life experiences. I'd been a month into my marriage then, and what was supposed to be the most joyful time of my life, happened to be one of the most difficult seasons I've experienced. Not the marriage part, per se, but life in general. From the experience of a grievous loss and family tragedy, to relationships that were painfully severed, to the division of people I loved most, the violation of trust, the sting of betrayal and broken promises, and an extremely broken heart... It was then that I completely stopped writing for leisure. (Man, I sound depressing!) I admit, it was the only time in my entire life that I experienced that thing called 'depression' -- that feeling that I was completely alone, suffocating, stuck in a deep darkness with no light at the end of the tunnel. Fortunately, and pretty quickly, there was a light at the end of that tunnel. I am happy to say that with the support, prayers and encouragement of loved ones, I was able to drag myself out of that funk within a few short months, and learned heaps of invaluable lessons as a result of all of the experiences I endured. Lessons that -- in retrospect -- I wish I would have recorded then. There's nothing more life-changing than the power of a story!

The name of this blog is Naked & Not Ashamed. The thought came from Genesis 2:25, where it talks about Adam & Eve being naked and unashamed before they sinned against God. Genesis 3:7 goes on to share that after they pretty much screwed up, "the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves." How often do we make coverings for ourselves, with our own feeble attempts to hide from God and each other because we are worried about what people would think if they really knew what we were thinking... or feeling... or doing? Oh, but there's nothing really new under the sun, is there? We've all heard that saying 'been there, done that' when we share our 'supposedly' scandalous experiences with someone older and wiser. Yet, we are all doing our very best to cover our asses, to pretend all is perfect, upkeep our social network masquerades, and walk around like we have it all together. 

Truth is, I'm not perfect. (Hard to believe, right?) I make mistakes...often. I find myself in situations where I still walk around with guilt on my conscience, trying to make restitution for my wrong-doings or -sayings (usually -sayings... I've got a big mouth sometimes). It's when I share these things with those trusted few in my life, that I am reminded that my feelings are normal, that the struggle is real, and I'm not the only one going through things. Jesus died a very public death so that my shame could be covered...there's nothing left for me to hide. So here I am, almost 4 years after I created this blog, picking up where I left off; attempting to strip all superficiality and share my story -- as it happens -- as openly and honestly as possible... (not that you guys are about to get a play-by-play of my life or anything; this is a blog, not a journal) ...with the hopes that maybe my transparency and the trivial day-to-day lessons I learn along the way will make your challenges less challenging or your story a bit more relatable.