(The hummingbird and flower in this picture are made from Legos!)

Hands down the areas I hate to clean most in my home are the bathtub and shower. Can’t really explain it. That’s just the way it is.  And Oh, how you can avoid cleaning those areas for such a long time it you truly want to. Just keep the shower curtain pulled! Works, right!? My pastor did put me on my toes one time about this when he said he looked behind shower curtains  in the bathrooms of houses he visits!

Just as I can hide a month or two of scum and soap build-up in my shower behind the curtain, I can do the same with things I don’t want others to see in my life.  All it takes is a smile! While smiles can be the most awesome and comforting of things when shared with others, they can also hide a multitude of hurt and pain.

Why the hesitancy to be real for a change and share with others who can pray for you and walk beside you through the pain? It’s all about perception. With the popularity of social media people are able to share  exactly what they want others to see about themselves…all the good things, the things that sometimes even make you covet their lives and assume yours is pretty boring and uneventful.  Trap of Satan that keeps you from being real about your life and thankful for the blessings you do have, hands down!!

No one, let me say that more emphatically, NO ONE has a perfect life. Sometimes we forget this when we see all the perfect pictures and smiles.  We live in a fallen world and we all have problems and difficulties.  There are just so few people who are brave enough to own up to that.  Why, what would folks think if they knew we had problems.  Would they look at us differently, shy away from us?

The real question is why do we care what they think?  As Christians we are not here on this earth to appeal to the fickle opinions of people who surround us everyday.  We are here to live a life of truth and representation of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Do you have any idea how much more approachable you are when you let down your wall of “perfect?” Rip the shower curtain back, so to speak. How Jesus can use you when people see how you handle pain and disappointments in life, how God ministers to you in those moments.

Let’s drop the Sunday morning smile, be real and look behind the Sunday morning smiles of others. Be ready and willing to engage and be used by God to share how your pain has shaped you, drawn you closer to the Lord and matured you in Him.  There are so many hurting, lonely people out there who need a hand reached out to them and a voice to share with them the love of Jesus in the midst of the hardships.

Where will your energy be concentrated…on perpetuating the “perfect life” or on being perfectly honest in a way that God can use you to advance His kingdom.  Pray about this.  Seek God’s will and guidance. Be real for Him!  To God Be the Glory!