Working the Shell Off

Vulnerability and Caring for the Soul by Shedding The Adapted Self

Listen here if you would like. Imagine your own coverings, the walls you put up, coats you put on or shells you guard your self with. What is the invitation you hear?

Where did my creative reach go?

A child among the trees,

Beautifully dependent,

With authentic peace.

When did the self begin?

Alone in fear,

Confused by shame,

Something I needed to hear?

I am the beloved of God,

His love runs pure,

His spirit pursues,

and makes me secure.

But I learned hardening,

Covering up with a veil,

Forgetting his love,

Building walls hard to scale.

I sought strength in myself,

I created a shell,

To protect what is inside,

I ran like hell.

The adapted self shell,

Like a coat in the rain,

Formed from rejection,

Only seeing perceived pain.

I assume things about

God, myself, and others,

Confirming fears,

This defense is a cover.

What does it mean

To shed this cocoon?

To transform the space,

To write something new?

It's about surrender,

Learning to behold,

Shattering self-protection,

Letting our beloved selves unfold.

We start by seeing,

Naming the stories we've weaved,

Dismantling what is dead,

Express and retrieve.

Tapping into the truth,

Who is really who?

Remembering His promises,

Welcoming the work to do.

Nurturing my story,

No longer weak and forgotten,

But whole and connected,

In Christ love begotten.

For this dismantling shell-work,

I am engaging the process,

Observing the old ways,

Imagining divine progress.

True peace on earth is Shalom,

A Savior inside and out,

Belief in wholeness,

Shedding the shell of doubt.

For in the chipping and shedding,

We find our true worth,

Awakening to the beauty,

That has been there since birth.

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JOIN US For a virtual Soul Care Retreat Sunday December 10th