New Picture!

I didn't realize that I could put a picture up there on top of the blog page, so when I did, I did. I took it of a corner of my desk. It sort of captures a microcosm within my office - my fish, Magnolia (Maggie for short), the array of colorful pens that I enjoy writing with, my collection of directories and over on the right, my husband and I. If you look just above our picture, you can see part of my Terrible Towel. :)

Isn't it interesting how we let certain people see certain parts of ourselves? Some folks see the 'work' side, some see the 'play' side, some see the serious, others the hilarious. Some see the worst part of us, some see the best. Some of that is what they perceive; some is what we choose to show them.

I wish someone would have helped me to be real as a teenager. I wish someone would have encouraged me to find out who I was, then be that as much as possible. Instead, I learned how to play the church game, the school game and the home game. I had the Christian friends game and the non-Christian friends game. I had different personalities in different situations. That might sound weird, and it was - not easy to keep up with.

The people I admire most in this life are those who are consistently themselves. Even people I can't stand being around - I have to give them credit for being authentically grouchy in every situation. Encourage youth to be kind and pleasant, but also to be honest.

example-

There were several times as a youth when I felt as though I should not take communion because of a dirty/angry heart. But I was afraid of what people would think about me - the misconceptions they would have and spread because I didn't take part in the ritual - so I would always do it anyway.

It never occurred to me that if I didn't take communion, maybe someone would approach me and ask if I needed prayer. Maybe someone would offer to aid in reconciliation in whatever situation it was needed for. The sad thing is, being honest never occurred to me because I couldn't imagine someone responding to it in that way. I had never seen it happen before, so it never crossed my mind.

Are we making a conscious effort in our churches to encourage honesty? To develop deep mentoring and accountability? Are we helping young people to deal honestly with their sins and struggles or do we discourage them when we ourselves are not honest within the Body?

Interesting questions. Think.