**disclaimer, if you start this post please read to the end of it.
Because if you just read the first paragraph and nothing else I might
die of embarrassment. You don't want that to happen... Do you?**
I, Faith Burk, have eaten a booger. "Big deal" you think. Most kids eat their boogers. Well, my booger eating was a habit formed in childhood that just sort of continued into ADULTHOOD (horrific I know). It happened when I was nervous or bored and most of the time I didn't think about it although I MADE SURE that I only did it when I thought no one was looking because I mean...
HOW EMBARRASSING
would that be if someone knew that I, Faith Burk, was a booger eater. It is totally unacceptable to be a booger eater in this society and considered to be super gross. I could be mocked like crazy. I bet in some societies eating your boogers is okay. In some cultures spitting on people is okay and a sign of well wishing. Maybe later on it will be found out that booger eating is actually good for you and it will be used in alternative medicine by homeopaths. The boogers could be ground up and made into herbal tea or turned into salty, crispy chips. But the point is that in THIS society, right now, booger eating is NOT OKAY or acceptable.
One time when I was driving in the car I, *gasp*, ate one (nothing that you do in the car can be seen by another person right?!). Right afterward my bro and sis-in-law drove by (on the freeway of all places, what are the odds?) and my sister-in-law put a cute little sign in the window that said, "Hi Faith and Dan".
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
Did they see? Do they know? What do they think of me? Are they talking about it? Will they tell? What if the WHOLE FAMILY knows? They'll never forget it. They will all talk about it. I will be known as a BOOGER EATER. In fact I was so unnerved by the fact that they MIGHT have seen that I emailed my sis-in-law and said something like...
Me: Something happened like a year ago that I think you might have seen me do that is soooooooooooooooooooo embarrassing. Did you see?"
Her: I have no idea what you are talking about. What was it?
Me: There is no way in this world that I am going to tell you what it was. Now I can go on with my life not being terrified that you know. Thank you for easing my anxiety on this subject.
Eventually I was, CAUGHT IN THE ACT by my husband. He was totally grossed out and in his shock uttered some totally not sensative and accepting things and asked me to promise never to do it again. I promised, and after just a few "oops, I forgot" moments. I stopped. And I have never eaten a booger since.
Why am I sharing this you may ask? Because this totally has to do with pornography addiction and the new Shamed Documentary that is coming out. Duh!! Isn't it obvious? I can't believe you didn't make that connection. No really, booger eating has everything to do with pornography addiction!
I know what it feels like to have something in my life that I am soooooooooooo embarrassed about. So ashamed about that I wouldn't want anyone to know. Something that I felt was so repulsive and socially unacceptable about myself that the idea of sharing it with another human being was unthinkable. Something that I thought wasn't just a gross thing to do but something that made me a GROSS PERSON.
That is what shame does. It causes a person to think that they are not only doing something gross/wrong but that they are a gross/terrible/unlovable person. When someone lives in a society where it is not okay to be a flawed/broken/sinful/gross person they feel compelled to HIDE their booger eating/pornography/alcohol/sex/food/whatever it is addiction. The problem with this is that when a person feels compelled to hide their behavior they cannot get help and healing.
The truth is We are all broken/sinful/gross people. We all put our pants on one leg at at time. We all make rude noises in the bathroom. Many of you have probably also eaten your boogers. We all have parts of our lives/selves/past that we are ashamed of. And here is the most amazing, healing and wonderful truth:
GOD LOVES US ANYWAY
He loves the booger eaters, child molesters, drug attics, prostitutes, murderers, liars, cheaters, porn addicts, kleptomaniacs, you name it. There is nothing that we can do to remove us from the love of God. There is something so beautiful and peaceful about knowing that God loves you right now, as is, no matter what. Period. One of the most beautiful explanations about God's love I have ever read I found here:http://www.joshweed.com/2012/06/club-unicorn-in-which-i-come-out-of.html.)
The Shamed Documentary aims to remove the shame from pornography addiction so that those affected by it can feel like they can come out of hiding to receive the help and healing that they need. Please watch these touching videos. I just told you that I used to eat my boogers. The least you can do is watch these videos.
This one is my fave! It has some eye opening statistics and a very beautiful song:
My bro-in-law and sis-in-law (not the one who almost caught me eating a
booger) are in this one. My bro-in-law is AWESOME to share his story in the Shamed Documentary. We love them both. (See how this affects my nuclear and extended family? I promise it is affecting yours too even if you aren't aware yet.). This one has very interesting statistics about Utah too if you happen to live here.
Behind the scenes of
Shamed.
Please support this great cause!! Share these videos and "like" the Shamed Documentary on Facebook. Click on the bottom of this blog post to share it. Donate to this great cause! This will change lives and help families heal. Thank you for reading and watching today...
