Learning to Lovewell: W2 - MON
As you enter Week 2, remember Crosswalk’s End Statements: we’re becoming people of belonging, becoming, generosity, restoration, and presence. This week especially invites us into restoration and presence, learning how God meets us when shame enters the story and how we can Lovewell in the middle of failure, fear, and hiding.
When Shame Enters
Genesis 3:8-10 (NLT) "When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, 'Where are you?' He replied, 'I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.'"
Everything has changed. The "very good" of chapter 1 has been shattered. Adam and Eve have disobeyed God, and now shame has entered the human story for the first time. They're hiding from the One who created them, blessed them, and walked with them in a perfect relationship.
Brené Brown puts it this way: “Shame loves secrecy. The most dangerous thing to do after a shaming experience is hide or bury our story. When we bury our story, the shame metastasizes.” (Daring Greatly). Notice what shame does: it makes us hide. It makes us afraid of the very love we desperately need. It convinces us that if people really knew us, our thoughts, our failures, our struggles, they would reject us. So we hide behind masks, behind performance, behind carefully crafted images of who we think we should be. But here's what breaks my heart about this story: God comes walking in the garden at the usual time. The Hebrew suggests this was God's regular practice, walking with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. Even after everything has gone wrong, God shows up.
This is our first picture of love after failure, and it sets the pattern for everything that follows. When we're hiding in shame, when we've broken trust, when we've messed up beyond measure, God doesn't stay away. God doesn't wait for us to get our act together. God comes looking.
"Where are you?" This isn't God being confused about Adam's location. This is God's heart breaking over the distance that shame has created. It's God saying, "What happened to us? Where did our relationship go? I'm still here. I'm still walking in the garden. Why are you hiding from Me?"
This is what love does when people are hiding: it pursues. Not with condemnation, but with concern. Not with punishment, but with the persistent question, "Where are you?" Because love knows that shame thrives in darkness and isolation, and healing happens in the light of relationship.
When Shame Enters
Genesis 3:8-10 (NLT) "When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, 'Where are you?' He replied, 'I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.'"
Everything has changed. The "very good" of chapter 1 has been shattered. Adam and Eve have disobeyed God, and now shame has entered the human story for the first time. They're hiding from the One who created them, blessed them, and walked with them in a perfect relationship.
Brené Brown puts it this way: “Shame loves secrecy. The most dangerous thing to do after a shaming experience is hide or bury our story. When we bury our story, the shame metastasizes.” (Daring Greatly). Notice what shame does: it makes us hide. It makes us afraid of the very love we desperately need. It convinces us that if people really knew us, our thoughts, our failures, our struggles, they would reject us. So we hide behind masks, behind performance, behind carefully crafted images of who we think we should be. But here's what breaks my heart about this story: God comes walking in the garden at the usual time. The Hebrew suggests this was God's regular practice, walking with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. Even after everything has gone wrong, God shows up.
This is our first picture of love after failure, and it sets the pattern for everything that follows. When we're hiding in shame, when we've broken trust, when we've messed up beyond measure, God doesn't stay away. God doesn't wait for us to get our act together. God comes looking.
"Where are you?" This isn't God being confused about Adam's location. This is God's heart breaking over the distance that shame has created. It's God saying, "What happened to us? Where did our relationship go? I'm still here. I'm still walking in the garden. Why are you hiding from Me?"
This is what love does when people are hiding: it pursues. Not with condemnation, but with concern. Not with punishment, but with the persistent question, "Where are you?" Because love knows that shame thrives in darkness and isolation, and healing happens in the light of relationship.
- Where in your life are you hiding from God or others because of shame?
- Who in your life might be hiding right now and needs to hear "Where are you?" from a place of love?
- How can you create environments where people feel safe to come out of hiding?
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