From a Team Expansion worker:
Their Wounds Laid Bare
The word had gotten around to the ladies in the park that the foreigner doctor was there. So, naturally, a group of women showed up to the mat just as we were starting to pack up to go home.
We sat back down and slid over the last of our remaining snacks to share with them as we began chatting.
I carefully recounted the symptoms of each woman back to our doctor. Each leaned in closely as they described the intimate details of pain, barrenness, and heartache. Our gentle doctor likewise leaned in and lovingly explained what the problem might be and how to get more testing.
For some, this was the first time they had consulted with a doctor in years, and they had a laundry list of health woes.
The Dignity Jesus Gives
Jesus was the thief of shame, and he not only took away the bleeding woman’s shame, but he also replaced it with honor.
As we said goodbye to them for the night, I thought about the bleeding woman whom Jesus healed, the one who was so confident in his power to heal her that she risked whatever last possible shred of dignity she possessed to just get close enough to touch the clothes of the miracle man.
It’s a story we tell to women often, but I thought of it in a different light this time.
An Asian friend of mine once observed something that has left me gobsmacked since the day she uttered it.
“Jesus is always taking away the shame.”
I went home and scoured the gospels with a new inductive curiosity. I had never observed how Jesus took away shame when people approached him in humility. Again and again, it was true.
Jesus was the thief of shame, and he not only took away the bleeding woman’s shame, but he also replaced it with honor.
As I left the park that night, the weight of how much shame each woman was feeling hit me. Particularly for the women with infertility, their shame is always out in the open for all to see. While most women chat with us and simultaneously nurse a baby or comfort tired kids, those without children cast aching glances over their empty arms.
For women who come from a culture where their worth is directly correlated with their ability to reproduce, the burden is immense.
His Burden is Light
Ask that Jesus would unshackle their shame and bring them into the beautiful light of His grace, love, and honor.
The one striking similarity in those whose honor Jesus restored is this: they came with a full acknowledgement of the shame they embodied.
With their dark shame out in the light of day, they came knowing He was the only one with the power to completely remove it.
Please pray for the many women who approach us with their shame laid bare, that they would take their burdens to Jesus and plead for His hope and healing.
Ask that Jesus would unshackle their shame and bring them into the beautiful light of His grace, love, and honor.
“Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn for me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matt. 11:28-30
