Interesting title, right?
Let's start with a question.......
Do you let the world see you?
The real you?
All the insecurities and fears that you harbor....
Do you show that side of you?
OR.......
Are you showing the world what you think they want to see.......
What they expect to see........
You know what I am talking about...
We all have that one person that we look at and honestly, secretly, we wish we could be them.
If only we had their life.....
They always have a smile on their face, a spring in their step....
Their hair always looks "done"....
Their kids are immaculate and well-behaved...
Their house is clean and beautifully decorated........
Etc. etc, etc,....
The list goes on and on.....
Let me tell you from experience..
things are not always as they seem......
28 yrs ago today..
I was a 17yr old HS senior.
I was smart, well-dressed, dating the football star, doing some modeling.
To the world I appeared to" Have it all together".
28yrs ago today..
I walked out of a Dr's office with the realization that I was pregnant..
24 weeks pregnant!
That'a right, 24WEEKS!!
Not a soul knew
No One
Only Me
Until this day 28 yrs ago
For 24 weeks I had a secret,
I pretended to be someone that I was not
I showed the world the side of me that they wanted to see
I wanted to live up to their expectations
After all, I had a rep to protect
What I realize now......
I was Bearing False Witness
"You should not bear false witness against your neighbor"......Exodus 20:16
This is one of the Big Ten
The Ninth Commandment
Now, I realize it says "against your neighbor"
I know it means do not lie about your neighbor
Doesn't it also mean do not present a lie to your neighbor
How about this.....
Do not bear false witness...at all
When we present ourselves as something we are not..
We are bearing False Witness...
When we only let the world see the "perfect side"
we are not able to show them God's Grace
I was so afraid to show the world that I was "human"
so afraid, that for 24 weeks, I hid a pregnancy
When I walked out of that Dr's office...
I felt like a 500lb burden was lifted from me....
I had only one regret.... I wished that I had told someone sooner.
I spent so much time and energy trying to keep up appearances, that I had missed out on the Grace that God had waiting for me.
I no longer Bear False Witness.
I do not pretend.
What you see is what you get...
I have scars and shortcomings
but they are my testimony
Today. 28 yrs later....
my story has allowed me to show others how God works..
How He loves His children
How He has a plan...
If I continue to show the world only what I think they expect...
Only what I think will impress them....
Not only am I bearing false witness...
I am denying them the chance to see God at work in my life
I want to be THAT kind of witness
The kind that when people see me.
they not only see the "real me"
they see that God is at work in my life.
Perfecting all the things that are not perfect.
Loving me regardless.
Using my faults and failures to glorify Him.
To allow others to see His abilities.
With Him there is no Pretense.
He is perfect.
Let go of that Perfection Pretense and let the world see you. flaws and all,
Then the world can see the Grace of God.
BE YOU,
Shelly
ps I love you Tara Jean
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