Shame

Shame covers me
like an old wool coat,
Heavy, rough, it even smells musty.
It doesn’t let me breathe . . .
I can’t get out from under it.

I let them do it. Nothing can ever change that.
There is no hope . . . I can’t get rid of it.
Nothing I do will ever wash it clean.
There’s no power that can change it . . .
Even Jesus won’t accept me.

But now I see Him . . . beaten,
jeered and leered at, spat on . . . 
shamed deeply.

He was innocent . . . but so was I.
I let them do it . . . but so did He.
He was shamed . . . so was I . . .
but He let them shame Him
so my shame could be taken away.
The shame belongs to those who hurt him,
And to those who hurt me.
Just as it does not belong to Him,
It does not belong to me.
And it does not belong to you.
Never did.

Let Jesus have it.

Let it go.

This is part 18 of a series on abuse recovery

Part 1| Am I Alone in my Pain?

Part 2| Do You Have Hope?

Part 3| Putting Your Hope in God is Safe

Part 4| How Do We Lose Our Hope?

Part 5| Growing up Without Hope

Part 6| Scripture Promises Can Stimulate Hope

Part 7| Hope Can be Found in Journaling

Part 8|Every Journey Begins with This

Part 9| Why Do We Quit Too Soon?

Part 10| Don’t Let These Stop You!

Part 11| Learning Too Much Can Stop Your Progress

Part 12| Is Fear of Change Hindering Your Healing?

Part 13| Are You Afraid You Don’t Deserve Healing?

Part 14| What if God Doesn’t Want Me to Be Healed?

Part 15| What if I Can’t Fight Long Enough for My Healing?

Part 16| Are You Living with Shame from Your Past?

Part 17| Do You Feel Like You Hate Your Own Soul?

all illustrations courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net