Life happens.

Who says we're supposed to have it all together? Christians are far from perfect. Christians don’t wear smiles on their faces 24/7. We feel pain, we feel rejection and neglect, we hurt, and we’re not robots who, just because we love Jesus, believe life is supposed to be handed to us on a silver platter. It’s the opposite, really. On days when we have much to be thankful for and we’re on top of the world, it only takes one minuscule event to bring our countenance down again and make us aware of the realities of life. It’s impossible and unrealistic to believe that we, as followers of Christ, will never experience anything apart from joy and peace on this side of heaven.

There are times when my emotions are on a roller coaster ride. One minute I'm in a great mood. The next minute, I can become worried, confused, scared, and moody very quickly. Does that mean that I'm not really a Christian?

Up, down, up again for a few days…then down again. It’s true that I’m a person who is more optimistic than pessimistic. I’d rather be happy for no particular reason than ticked off because of something out of my control. But, sometimes I just don’t feel like being in a good mood. I feel more like screaming. And it can stem from many different reasons at any given moment. Usually, though, I struggle with feelings of unworthiness from myself or others. I find no difficulty in being hard on myself. I fail on a daily basis to live up to my expectations of what a Christian woman ‘should’ be. It’s easy to be judgmental, and it’s even more damaging when we’re that way towards ourselves. Whether it’s imagined or not, we tend to look inward and wonder, “What’s wrong with me?”

Yesterday I was lying out by the pool with a girlfriend of mine. We were discussing what we see in our Christian walk and how that differentiates between what the world thinks it’s supposed to look like. Wearing masks seems to be the ‘safe route’. Telling someone we're "fine" when we're actually miserable is only keeping us from healing and finding freedom much quicker. It's not being real. A genuine relationship is what is real. We cannot hide from God about our struggles. So, why do we hide from one another, or from ourselves?

Aren't we a people who struggle with some of the exact same things that the world does? Isn't it true that the only difference between 'us' and 'them' is that we've accepted Christ and have allowed Him to change us into His image..albeit slowly and painfully at times?

I'd rather be an open book...even if that means I will be rejected...and be real with people in hopes that I'm not labeled a hypocrite or a fake. Christians have missed the mark. We've taken our eyes off of the Saviour and have placed it on standards as to what we feel someone should look, be, or act like. Who am I? Who is anyone, apart from Christ, to judge or look down on another? That's the thing. He knows our hearts. I can be as ugly to the world as ever...but I'm not rejected by my Father. Can't we be real and love the way He does? When I'm hurting or struggling with sin, I can't hold back from asking for prayer or sharing with a listening ear. My hopes is that being genuine will help the world see that we're still sinners saved by grace. Nothing more, nothing less.