I’m tackling the stack of books behind my desk – & have finished Rob Bell’s latest – here’s an excerpt that really nailed it for me:
When it’s written that Adam & Eve were one flesh, their “echad flesh” is acutally a celebration of a million other things. Things that ough to be celebrated: God. Life. Creativity. Potential. Shared partnership in caring for the world. Strength for weakness, weakness for strength. A new family. The ongoing creation of the world.
And finally after all of this leaving & cleaving & bones, & flesh, the passage ends with the line “the man & this wife were both naked, & they felt no shame…”
No shame or embarrassment. No apologizing for who they are. No covering up or pretending. No masks or secrets. Total acceptance of each other. That’s what we want, isn’t it? We want someone to see us exactly as we are & still love us.
It’s terrifying to let people see who we really are. To see the darkness in our hearts, our bad habits, all of the things we’ve done in the past that we regret. Our biases, our shortcomings, the things we aren’t good at.
Being naked is terrifying.
What would it be like to be with someone who loves you exactly as you are? If you see me for who I really am, the me that no one else has ever seen, the me that I wouldn’t dare to show anybody else on the planet, the parts of me I’m not sure I want anybody ever to see. If I give you that kind of glimpse into the seat of my being, into my soul, will you still love me like you do now?
It’s our question for each other & it’s our question for God. Unconditional, absolute acceptance. From a lover, from God – it’s what we crave.
that’s profound. Was it a good book?
Very, very good. This was a long post. I don’t like long posts.
Don’t like long posts? I can remember a few exceedingly long posts that someone made. :)
he he.
srh-good book
re: long posts. Build a bridge.
that was good times. And, I think you know how I feel about goodtimes. They belong in an SNL sketch. Like Addison chucking her brownie. To answer your question(s) I would be beyond terrified to be completely out there. I am sure no one would tolerate the dialogue in my head. It is rather rotten, but amusing.
this book had so many things that stood out to me. one of the most impressionable is the chapter angels or animals. really dug that and i have already lent this one out. so good. thank you louie.