What’s something that you pride yourself on; your focus, intelligence, tenacity, strength? Maybe you are really good at encouraging others or you can spot someone in need from a mile away. Then there’s that little character trait called honesty. If you were, well, honest- then you would probably say that while you may slip up and lie to others on occasion, you really do try to live an honest life. However, how honest are you with yourself?
I stepped on my own toes the other day. (I know, it takes real talent to do that- ironically enough I HAVE done that before on several occasions). Anyway, I came to the unfortunate realization that I am unorganized. GASP!!! What an atrocity! It took me by surprise because, honestly (there’s that word again), I thought I was. I’m not completely incapable of being organized and there are many things in my life that I juggle pretty well. Yet, there are several areas in my life where I am merely treading water and because of this I’m stressed more than I care to admit. I am not a Suzy Homemaker and certainly not a Martha Stewart, but simply because I love lists, cute little organizers, and rearranging things, I thought I was doing pretty well. That is, until I made a BIG mistake and accidentally threw away a tiny piece of paper that had someones name on it and the time/day I talked with them… that little mistake cost me- literally (I won’t get into it- let’s just say it was a health insurance thing). It was then that I realized my “organized piles” were just stacks of pretty chaos!
So? Why in the world should you care whether I’m organized in my own home or not? Well, because I have a feeling that you may be deceiving yourself in some area as well; maybe not even on purpose. The problem with this kind of deception is that, while it may not be sinful per se, these little things in our lives that we allow to run amok will eventually steal our joy, our peace, and can be a huge stressor in our lives! I have so many goals and dreams that I’d LOVE to accomplish someday, but I realize now that if I ever want to do those particular things, I need to make some BIG changes in the seemingly little areas of my life.
Life is a learning process, I get that. None of us are perfect and we all have areas that we need to improve in. Sometimes though, I think we need to reexamine where we are, our goals, and what we may be lying to ourselves about that could be standing in the way of those goals. Have you convinced yourself that you cannot do __________ because of ___________? Is this a real reason or a deceptive excuse? Once you can identify the place in your life that you may be unintentionally camouflaging, you can start to learn how to overcome it, grow to a place where you are in control of your behaviors, and move forward with whatever you know God has called you to do.
So, I applaud you for being so honest with those around you… but I challenge you to be a little more straightforward regarding the inner-workings of your day-to-day life. Quit making excuses and deceiving yourself! Own up to it, and just give it to YOU straight!
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