Moment of full disclosure here....I haven't bought the book. I was going to...it has been sitting in my Amazon cart for over a month now. But, it is hard for me to spend money sometimes. So, I let it sit there, thinking I would order it later. Then, I got busy and forgot......then, I didn't get it because I was going to be in Minnesota.....then I decided that we were already half way through the book, so what was the point..... you know? Even though the book is completely awesome, and Jen and I should become best buddies and hang out all the time....I decided I would
just see if I could borrow it from someone else once we finish the study.
It is so good. A mix of deep and funny/light stuff.
Today, we talked mostly about chapter 7 which is entitled Tell The Truth.
In it, Jen (yes, I called her Jen, like I actually know her or something....) talked about living your authentic life and not caring what people think or say about you. I liked her caution that didn't mean you blurt out all your "stuff" to the lady you pass in the parking lot of Kroger, but surround yourself with your "people" that make it okay to be your true/authentic self. I am totally paraphrasing here, but it was a good chapter.
Our pastor made a point about honesty and being truthful in his sermon today too. But...... here is another moment of full disclosure here.....where I will tell the truth.....I don't remember what his point even was. He used the phrase that went something like, "Can you imagine if you told the truth...". and my brain was off and running...I let my mind get distracted by what had happened before church today.
You see, I had logged onto Facebook while I drank my coffee this morning and perused what my friends had been up to. One of my old friends from high school had posted a Buzz Feed video entitled "If Sex Was Honest!". Apparently, she thought it was really funny, and even used capital letters in her description.... so....... I clicked play. About 30 seconds in, I had to stop...it didn't seem like it was something that I should be watching as I got ready to lead worship, you know? (You will be happy to know I was able to wrangle my mind back to for the rest of the sermon) Who knew that God was going to be able to use that piece of a video and tie it into both the sermon and my Sunday School class today?
God really is funny in the most awesome way.
Anyway, back to telling the truth. Even without knowing all the details from the video, my brain went to the point of...what would things be like if you actually told the truth? One of the ladies in my Sunday School class said it makes her think of that Jack Nicholson movie..you know...this one...
I didn't quite go that far in my mind....I went more towards this....
Cracked myself up with that one. But, it is true. That is more my truth. I don't have any big skeletons in my closet. I don't have a secret second family. I am not having an affair....nor does the idea interest me in the least! I don't have any secret obsessions or addictions.
I am just me. Trying to live my truth. I want to sit home, bra-less and do something relaxing that isn't educational. You know? I really do try to present myself pretty much as I really am....but, I am hoping for the cutest picture of myself to post alongside it. LOL
In class, we talked about the fact that the older we get, we realize that everybody has a story...everyone has a struggle....so even if they are only showing you the happy smiling pictures of their "perfect" life....or "perfect" marriage or "perfect" children..... we know....we know it isn't really all that perfect.
One of my friends said that every "perfect" marriage she has seen has ended up in divorce.
I don't want to be perfect. I don't want a perfect marriage or perfect children. I just want Rainman and my 6 little people (who aren't quite so little anymore). I want to be the best me I can be. But, to do that....to be that....I need to be real. I need to be authentic. Sometimes that is scary. In a way, it feels like giving some of your power away to let people see all the real, truthful stuff about you....but in a way, it is freeing too. So, I am trying. I am trying to be real. I am trying to Tell The Truth.
How about you? Is it hard for you to be authentic? Is it hard for you to trust people with your real and true self? Any words of wisdom or advice on how to be courageous enough to let people see and know the real you?
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