On Being Naked

When I started studying the book of Isaiah, I came across a verse that said that Isaiah preached naked for three years. Wait, what? Did that verse just say that Isaiah preached naked?!!! Isaiah 20:2-3 says, “At the same time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, ‘Go, and remove the sackcloth from your body, and take your sandals off your feet.’ And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. Then the Lord said, ‘Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia…” I went to study bibles and other translations because surely I read it wrong. Today as I was listening to another message, I reflected on what writing means to me. It makes me feel naked. It makes me feel vulnerable. It doesn’t make me feel weak, but it does make me feel completely exposed. That’s more frightening than I could have ever imagined before taking this writing journey. Sunday is usually my writing day, and last Sunday I wrote a blog about not being chosen. That blog still has me examining my issues of abandonment and rejection, and I’m not ready to share it. But am I not the same person that promised God that I would write for 365 days, all the good, the bad, and the ugly? When I reflected again on Isaiah preaching naked, I immediately prayed that God would not make me be “naked and exposed” for three years. I will take this ONE year gladly and do what He called me to do. I don’t know where you feel vulnerable. I pray that whatever makes you feel vulnerable doesn’t also make you feel weak. Recently I’ve been talking to quite a few women who feel overwhelmed, and they see their tears as a sign of weakness. I see tears as a sign of acknowledgement and the beginning of healing. Isn’t that what vulnerability does to us? Don’t we have to acknowledge where we are so that we can take the steps to become whole? I’m just thinking out loud…and stalling. Stay tuned for my very open and raw blog on not being chosen.