Hiding from Love preview

Okay, so it might be cheating to use a quote from the middle of the book to preview a book, but I think this summary gives a good picture to the book's intent.

In these last four chapters, we've looked at the building blocks of character in the image of God:

• the ability to be attached and to attach,
• the ability to set boundaries and be separate,
• the ability to live with the good and bad of ourselves and others,
• the ability to establish oneself as an adult with appropriate adult authority.

    These four aspects are the foundation of personality. God's plan is for us to develop them all fully. The more we develop these traits, the more we become like Him. The problem is that we are all injured, at some level, in the development of all these aspects.
    This is where hiding comes in. When our growth is arrested in the development of these parts, we remove ourselves from further growth. By hiding, we try to protect ourselves from further pain. And sometimes we bury certain aspects of our soul --perhaps our trusting feelings, or our adulthood-- so deeply that we lose awareness of its existence.
    It's the redemption of these parts of the self that we are afraid of --and need-- the most. These frozen aspects of our souls desperately need the light of grace and the instruction of truth. But we're terrified at the same time that we'll experience even more isolation, hate, or criticism than we've already felt. (pg. 116)

Hopefully this gives you a clear picture as to what this book is about.