Who Are You, Really? (It’s Time to Be the Real You)
Put-together mom. Loving wife. Ever-present daughter. Model Christian. Industrious. Ambitious. Compassionate. Humble.
All things we strive to be. Expect ourselves to be. Think others expect of us.
Yet who are we kidding! We know we don’t measure up. Try as we might, we can never quite get there … or stay there. So we hide out, shut down, or simply pretend. We go to great lengths to hide the imperfections.
After all, who wants a messy mom or a self-centered, prideful Christian or a disgruntled wife or daughter?
But while stuffing our ugly, we also hide our beauty.
While stuffing our ugly, we also stuff our beauty. Click To Tweet
Take Off the Masks
We are made in the image of Christ. A perfect image — lovely without blemish. As believers, Christ’s loveliness — His perfection — is in you, and me.
Caked in layers of self-righteousness, no doubt. Buried under mounds of hurt, likely. Covered with the accumulated filth of sin, ours and others, absolutely.
Yet still it’s there: the real you. Behind the masks and under the layers of pretense. Waiting to be revealed. Wanting to be exposed to the light.
But that arch nemesis whispers doubt in our ear: No one wants the real you. You are messy. loud. flawed.
Fear and doubt shackle our true voice; it convinces us no one wants the true us.
Fear and doubt shackle our true voice; it convinces us no one wants the true us. Click To Tweet
But if we never step out of the pretense of being someone we are not, if we never stop hiding out in the dusty attic, if we never take off the masks, the beauty of who are created to be will never be revealed. The voice He gave us will never be heard.
If we never step out of the pretense of being someone we are not, the beauty of who we are will never be revealed. Click To Tweet
Be the Real You
What a shame to forever lose the gift of YOU to a spirit of fear!
You don’t need to remain in that place of pretense, in the prison of loneliness. You — not the impostor, but the real you — are a beloved child of God. The Lord delights in you. He wants you to live free.
You are loved, not because you meet some impossible standards, not because you were born into the right family, not because of anything you did or didn’t do. You are loved because you are His chosen child. Through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ, He scrubbed you clean and brought you into His fold.
Grab onto that truth! Wield it with confidence. It’s time to live unshackled. To celebrate the real you.
Step onto the path of freedom and let the fear and shame fall away, one layer at a time.
Step onto the path of freedom and let the fear and shame fall away, one layer at a time. Click To Tweet
I’ll be the woman next to you, adding another of my masks to the growing discard pile.
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2).
Reflections: What masks are you holding onto? Can you take the step today to peel off just one mask and add it to the discard pile? I’m praying for you … and me.
This is one of many stories on hope, healing, and finding our voice posted and linked up today on Jo Ann Fore’s blog. They are written by bloggers incredibly excited about Jo Ann’s new book, When A Woman Finds Her Voice: Overcoming Life’s Hurts & Using Your Story to Make a Difference, set to release in October. This weeks topic is The View Behind the Mask.
To read more about Jo Ann’s book click HERE. I know you’ll love these inspiring stories! Click the button below to read all of them.
By His grace ≈
Julie
Find hope in your real-life struggles. We'll chase it together! I am a wife; mom of 4 (including a young adult daughter with special needs); miscarriage mom of 5; author & follower of Jesus Christ. I write, edit, speak and enjoy everything outdoors.
Hi Julie! I am coming over from Winsome Wednesdays.
I love this post because it really resonates with me. I am a recovering perfectionist, so thinking I have to be perfect kind of comes with the territory. I love to be reminded that God thinks I’m just fine, after all, he made me!
If I am good enough for him, I’m good enough for anyone 🙂
So nice to meet you today!
Ceil
“If I am good enough for him, I’m good enough for anyone :)”Amen, Ceil! We should paste that on the walls in every church and school! So grateful you stopped by. Blessings.
“But while stuffing our ugly, we also hide our beauty.” Amen. We don’t want to allow Satan to fool us into hiding our beauty right along with our ugly. We need to be true to ourselves and to God.
Exactly, Tina! But it can be very difficult to do.
Can you imagine what life would be like if we all lived exactly the way God wants us too…? The facades, hindrances, fears …. ALL gone. 🙂 Thank you for sharing this sweet post. ~ Bobbi – ApronTalk.com
It would be Heaven on earth, literally! So glad you popped in, Bobbi.
Raising teens – fighting through prayer through them – I’ll throw off any mask any day to save them, to not let a one be lost – and not just my boys – but others too. Hearts weren’t changed by people with masks! True words Julie – about the importance of being real!
So true! We stifle our ability to ministry when we live a life of pretense.
Wonderful Julie, I love your truth. We are loved because we are His.
So grateful for His love.
Discard pile of masks! What an image. What a mountain if we all did it, even one mask at a time. Really touching post, moved me this morning. Bless you Julie.
Yes, it’s hard to imagine the size it would grow to, Shanyn. Love to see it grow though. 🙂
The more I peel, the more I find. Healing is a process. Rejoicing in Him!
Isn’t that the truth, Cheryl! Rejoicing alongside you.