One of those days

This past Friday was just one of those days. You know the type. The kind where when you finally lay your head on the pillow at the end of the day , you are absolutely disgusted with yourself for all the ways that you messed up. Usually when I have one of those days its because I have failed to begin the day with the Lord. So rather than being filled with the Spirit, I am full of myself...and that never goes well. Friday was one of those days.

To be honest, I have those days more often than I would care to admit. I am pretty good at having it all together on the outside even when things are a mess inside. I can slap on a cute outfit and a smile, say all the right things and everything appears to be just great. When in reality, I woke up late, yelled at my children and pouted because things weren't going my way.

Its so easy for us as women, especially Christian women, to fall into the trap of always trying to appear perfect. We don't want people to see our sins, our flaws and our weaknesses. We do our best to mask the ugliness in our hearts, to hide the very reality that we profess to be true as Christians, that we all fall short, that we're all sinners.

When I do my best to hide the fact that I am NOT perfect that I DON'T have it all together, that I DO mess up, then I how am I pointing people to Jesus? Constantly appearing as if I have everything under control actually undermines the power of the cross, the beauty of grace, and the peace in surrender.

Now, I am not advocating walking around like a hot mess all the time, airing your dirty laundry or constantly complaining. None of those things brings Glory and honor to God either. But what I am saying is that its okay to let people see the real me, the imperfect one. The one who loses my temper with my children. The one who forgets to do my quiet time on a busy day. The one who has far too many opinions and is too quick to speak. When people see my shortcomings and my failures, then I can more readily point them to Jesus, the only perfect one, who forgives all my sins, who redeems all my mistakes,and who intercedes on my behalf to the Father.

Yes, we should strive daily to be more like Jesus. Yes, we should be rooted in God's word and prayer. Yes, we should try to present our lives as an offering, holy and pleasing to the Lord. Yes, we should encourage other believers by our words and actions. But we should also share in one another's struggles, bear one another's burdens and walk faithfully along side one another as we imperfectly travel the path to sanctification. When we open up ourselves to this type of vulnerability, then true Christian fellowship can occur.

Yes, Friday was one of those days. I pray that as I grow in my faith that those days become fewer and farther in between. But since I know that they will come inevitably due to my sin, I am all the more thankful for the grace of Jesus, that covers all my sins. And hopefully, instead of seeing me, people will see that grace and be drawn to it and to the One who provides it.