Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable.

Be honest and transparent anyway. ~ Mother Theresa

Enjoyed lunch today with a new friend.

Her last name has the word “angel” in it. She most assuredly lives up to that. We have talked often over the past eight months, but more on a professional level. Today was our first, friend to friend, tell me about your life, sit down and have lunch, conversation.

From the moment we met in the restaurant parking lot, the sharing of our hearts never stopped. She shared her stuff. I shared mine.  Words flowed and our food sat untouched for several minutes. For a moment I felt cautious, not wanting to be misunderstood. You know the thoughts… “what will she think of me?” “what if I misrepresent or am misunderstood?” But the feeling quickly left because I know that being transparent is what I want to be. And I felt safe with her… vulnerable yet safe.  I know you know what I mean.

Which brings me to something we talked about while eating our portobello mushroom tacos. Sometimes it is difficult to be truly authentic while blogging. Afterall, it’s out there for the whole world to see, yet you do not hear my tone or see my body language or know me and my quirks. Sometimes I just want to write “I am having a horrible-no-good kind of day” or a “where are you God” kind of day. I do not want to portray me or my family as perfect or having “arrived”. Because that would not be truthful or genuine or real.  Most days I struggle, I sin, I do not forgive, I hold a grudge, I fear instead of trust, I make selfish choices, I do not choose kind words… and on it goes. So when you visit here, please know that I am no different than you. We are in this life together and as it says in the Bible… we will have troubles.

I read recently that “anyone can fake it for the Christmas photo”.  Same goes for a blog post. That’s NOT what I want. What I want to do is concentrate on the positive. Some people see only the best in life, in themselves, in others, all the time. I wish I was, but am not one of them. It is important for me to be intentional about thinking about these things…

I want to share what I am learning along this journey called life, through my own experiences and from watching others walk it out. I have learned that God is good, all the time. He is trustworthy, when I am not. God is forgiveness, when I need it most. He is gracious, because He delights in us.  He is the giver of second chances and beyond, because that’s His character. 

thanks D.D. for inspiring this post. Your vulnerability was a beautiful thing, allowing God’s grace to shine bright, warming my heart. You have no idea what a blessing you are to me and my family.

(can’t believe we were too busy talking that we forgot to take a photo!)