A thought

"Paul, as you may remember, urges us to offer our bodies--our very selves--as a living sacrifice to God (Rom. 12:1). This offering cannot be made in some abstract way with pious words or religious acts. No, it must be rooted in the acceptance of the concrete details of who we are and the way we live....

And who we are--not who we want to be--is the only offering we have to give.

We give God therefore not just our strengths but also our weaknesses, not just our giftedness but also our brokenness. Our duplicity, our lust, our narcissism, our sloth--all are laid on the alter of sacrifice...

Even the truth about our shadow side sets us free (John 8:32)."

From Chapter 2, 'The Prayer of Examen," in Prayer: finding the hearts true home (Foster).