"Gettin' Neked" in the Nakedness

There's Naked and there's NEKED.

You know what I'm saying. 

Nakedness implies beauty and intimacy.

Nekedness implies some something, something is up. It's dirty side of lovin'.

As a foster momma, there are many secrets I can't share. I bare the griefs and sorrows of stories untold; memories repressed; shadows that linger. It can be haunting at times. Some moments, it leads me to withdraw from the world. I have to process the depth of despair sin brings, and the piercing claws it seeks to use.

I'm tempted to put my best face forward, to buck up, to fake the intimacy of soul and let you see the beauty of my naked emotions. But, it's not always me.

You may not be a foster parent, but we all have the shadows. The shame we bury. The rage we fight to control. The vicious monsters we strive to cage within. We all feign our "nakedness." We pretend it's our true selves.

For the first time in eight years, Jamie and I are in a small group our own age. We were involved in youth for seven years, and last year things simply fell through with our kids' visitation schedules.

This year we made it a priority to find our space not to serve or lead, but to be served and led. This quarter we've been telling our stories. And the depth of glory that comes from truth...is unshakable.

The truth will set you free.

We could come to group polished up, ready to display the "pretty" side of love.

But that would be a waste of time. These guys show up to love us hard. They look us in the eye and are willing to go to the "dark night of the soul" and back...no questions asked.

They understand that it's through the exposure of the dirty "nekedness" that true nakedness can take root.

As one friend said last night, "True love and relationships connect at the point of weakness, not strength."

As an Americanized, individualized Christian culture, we've lost the intense beauty of brokenness. We often make our way to the Cross with our finances, our resumes, our obedient children, and smiling marriages.

Those are good things. But, when we fail to let our walls crumble or our glass shatter, the wounds begin to run deep, and the loneliness runs deeper still.

Because the reality is, without the weakness, without the brokenness, without the nekedness...there is no need for the Gospel.

If I am able to save myself, why do I need a Savior?

If there is nothing to be redeemed, what is the place for a Redeemer?

If there are no depths from which to be restored, what is the point of a Restorer?

The truth is, we are the Body of Christ. We have been saved, redeemed, and restored. We have been to the death of our souls and back because there is a life to be brought into. And it is an abundant life.

I think of Adam and Eve. They went from Nakedness to Nekedness. They strived to restore themselves. All the while, a God called their name, pursued them, the ones He had made for more. The ones He had made for beauty.

And we continue to run. We continue to hide and cover. We continue to cling to our worthless idols of reputation and appearance, all the while forfeiting the grace that could be ours. (Jonah 2:8)

And in our running, there is One waiting to envelop our shame with the cloak of His righteousness, to mark our filthiness with the Glory of His son, to save us from lonely, false caverns of despair.

Simply waiting for us to be willing to get Neked because He knows it is only in the stripping and shattering of our souls that Healing can take root.

______________________________________________________________________________ ***YEA!!!!! for FUN FAMILY!!!!  You won the MUCH belated GIVE AWAY of a TFI shirt! Message me your size. They do run a little small.***