paradox places

i’ve been doing some digging...and lingering...

lingering in paradox places (see last week’s out and back as a part 1 to this).

the one i’ll mention here that has been potent lately is nakedness.
yes indeed.
adam and eve started there so why can’t we?

without making a long story long or turning into a pitiful diary entry - a recent invitation for me spiritually has been to dig into some old shame, to dig and to root out, to shine light in some dark corners that have collected cobwebs and become quite musty to the point where you can’t ignore it anymore. but in order to shine light, root out, identify, and let go requires first to see it and uncover it. to remove all the hiding layers. it’s like excising a tumor - open things up, see the ugly for what it is, identify the boundaries and the feeders, and remove it and all it’s touched.
messy process.
and vulnerable.

which brings me to the naked part.
i think the paradox i’ve been sitting in is the idea that the places of deepest vulnerability present the option for both deepest shame and for deepest intimacy. when exposed, the narrative can pull us back into the hiding and fearful shame spiral, or we can lean towards a bid for connection and the chance at being seen at an ever deeper level.
frustration or formation.
pivot away or lean towards.
hide or be seen.

so there’s an invitation to rethink what’s going on. an invitation to take inventory on the story i’m writing about the ugly mess on the table again.

the same space where a weighty burden of loneliness sits can become the weight of glory in intimacy. the same space where scarcity reigns and you never feel enough can become the same space where god’s abundance, nearness, and provision are crystal clear.

the light shines most vividly in the darkest corners.
the water most quenching in the driest desert.

paradoxical spaces.
potent places.