SHAME

When you’re experiencing “growing pains”, it’s so easy to allow feelings of embarrassment, regret, and shame overcome us because of how naive or ignorant we once were to specific things in our lives. It’s easy to allow humiliation to flood your entire being because “how did I fall for that s**t in the first place? How could I allow myself to make such stupid decisions? Allow myself to be treated like s**t? Allow myself to treat OTHERS like s**t?” But it is ALL. APART. OF. GROWTH. No one using these social media platforms, or walking the face of this earth, is perfect. Before we were wise about a thing, we were foolish. Before a lot of us understood the beauty/value in respecting others and in being respected, we ourselves had to experience being disrespected. Before we could even begin to understand a fragment of some of the gifts that God has given to us as individuals (talents, certain characteristics, true love, a genuine appreciation for life, etc.) we either had to have certain things taken away from us, or not be given some of the same opportunities as others. Everything that has ever happened to any of us in our lives happened for a reason. However, what determines whether what you went through (positive or negative) was experienced in vain, is how you choose to move on from it. Realizing this can be a hard pill to swallow, but don’t let shame keep you stagnant. Learn from your mistakes. Choose understanding over pettiness and guilt. Move forward. – Titus 3:3-8