As much as I think I'm too serious at times and I want to be more childlike in my faith and in my lifestyle, I don't want to present a false view of myself. In this day and age where social media is king, it's so easy to only show the highlight reel of your life. Something about that just doesn't swing right with me, so maybe the only part of social media I actively pursue is blogging.
As much I want to be godly, humble, fun, loving, fit, smart -- I don't want to pretend that the pains of loneliness, the memories of rejection, the hardship of adapting to a work environment, and the lessons learned from moving into the city, the struggles I have with lust, and transition of graduating college -- these things all come packaged with me. These things are all a part of me, good and bad.
I post less when I'm down or sad because I don't want to present that side of me -- because I don't want to discourage readers, but maybe that's exactly what I should do. Not to bring others down, but to show that people fall to. I appreciate those self-loathing jokes because they sort of allow a way for you to own your own shortcomings, but some people, myself included, haven't come that far yet. And our weak spots are still weak. These are things that we don't see on social media.
One of my favorite Pastor Peter quotes is this:
Whenever Christians tell a story of hardship, they always wrap it up with a bowtie. 'Bill and I are having so many struggles with marriage that we don't know if we can make it...BUT...God is showing us grace everyday,' and the entire congregation sighs. Sometimes I wish that people would show up and just say 'We hate each other. We want to kill each other,' and nothing else.I believe in reason for hardship, plans to prosper, not to hurt us. I'd love for everyone to own their shortcomings but until then, teach us to pray, God.
Maybe this post is all too relevant as Valentines Day lingers ahead of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment