Let me take a Selfie

And is there anything really wrong with that? I'm not sure and yet I think that the model that we put out there leads to a lot of wrong things. Hang with me for a second... Have you ever gotten ready to take a "selfie" only to end up taking 5 to 10 then adding in filters erasing this fixing that only to turn around and stare at the screen waiting for feed back scared that maybe this time you put the wrong one up. Your doubts come in, self-esteem issues perhaps, or maybe feeling dumb for even going there, or maybe you regret the fact you caved and gave into the newest thing, or those filters tho... Your mind starts to swirl and becomes a confused pile of mess. All for posting a picture of yourself up on Facebook/Instagram or well you pick the social media platform.

Is it really bad to take pictures of yourself? Nah I don't think so where I think we go wrong as a society is making it such a big deal to post the "perfect" picture to the world. But is that a real honest picture? Think about what you read on social media and you get 2 views the first is MY LIFE IS PERFECT look at my PERFECT house, PERFECT kids, PERFECT spouse, PERFECT everything. My NEW car, NEW house, NEW baby, NEW pet, NEW (fill in the next blank).

What it doesn't show is what that perfection cost you either personally or financially. I mean don't get me wrong when I bought my new car I shared that cause I worked hard for it. Then it turns out that now I have to work 2 jobs, move from my fancy apartment to a rental house that came with issues I don't even want to discuss. But did I post any of that on social media? Nope... why? Same as the selfie with all the filters that was picture 7... so that you would see the "perfect" life that I wish I had and yet I don't want to struggle in front of you. I want you to celebrate with me, tell me I'm pretty, I'm doing well, and that I've made it. If you actually saw the other stuff you wouldn't have been so quick to like the photo and tell me "Congrats" most of you would have lectured me, explained what was going to happen, asked if I was sure, was I ready. And you would have been right, (mind you I would have been angry, but you would have been right). Yet I went for it. I went for the praise and admiration over the sensible thing to do.

Because the other view of Social media are the ones that are always posting the negative consequences of life. The "Debbie Downers" of the internet pop up. You know the ones you have either muted them or ignore them, but they're the ones who are always "complaining" about how hard their lives are, what struggles they are going through, how tight money, how horrible the country is. And after awhile you start to realize that they're angry with their life's situation and you think, "I don't want anyone to mute me and block me because I feel the same way". Yet your life is more like theirs not PERFECT, not WONDERFUL, it only has glimpses of that PERFECT life that you always dreamed of and usually that dream comes at a steep price.

So back to the original question... is it worth it? Is it worth the front, the truth, the selfie number 10 and the only highlights on social media or is it worth being blocked to show others that life sucks. Or could there be a different way all together? (And no I'm not talking about a social media blackout although that would solve a great deal of problems)

What if we went back to our roots.
Look at Psalm 106: 13-14 for me
"But they soon forgot what He had done and did not wait for HIS counsel.... they gave into their cravings"
I don't know about any of you, but when I was studying the Bible this week that verse gripped me and hasn't let go. How many times in our social media driven lives have we sought counsel from others first, how many times have we sought approval from others first, how many times have we asked others to give us advice on what to do, buy, who to date, how to eat? How many times have we looked for praise from strangers first and only ran to HIM when it fails, or we don't hear what we need or desire?
How many times have we rushed into a relationship, a diet, a purchase without seeking HIS counsel only to then find ourselves stuck in a situation that SUCKS and then look up at HIM and shake our fist asking "WHY ME"

I don't want to be honest here and say that it's more times then I can count, but the LORD knows it has been. I am the first to seek other's opinions of what to do, where to go, what to buy, how to look, and then run to HIM when it falls apart wondering where did I go wrong this time...Wondering why isn't my life PERFECT like the dream, like so&so's social media page. Only to be reminded that maybe their life isn't perfect and when was the last time you truly talked with GOD? How can we expect a relationship with HIM where we get to know what HIS response will be if we only go to HIM when our lives are falling apart? When we are on selfie 15 and the car payment is 2 months behind. And then expect HIM to come up with a miracle that solves the problem immediately. When if we had sought his counsel and WAITED maybe just maybe HE would have presented another option with less filters.

Patience... Lord bless me with patience not opportunities

Patience…

Lord why don’t I have any and why is there such a push for it? If I know that is a character flaw why do I desire it so much? Is it because we all truly want what we can’t have? What’s so great about patience and why do so many of us lack it. I’m not just talking about the patience that comes with driving and not getting mad at the guy in front of us for cutting us off (although if we are being completely transparent I could use of that kind as well). No what I’m talking about is the kind of patience that comes from love, mercy, grace. The deep stuff. The patience that allows you to be nice and civil to that one person that you really just want to strangle, yet something internally keeps you from screaming or saying that one thing you know will get them to back off because you’ve finally crossed a line. The patience that allows you to give grace in a situation where all you want to do is put that person in their place and prove to the WHOLE WORLD they’re stupid and you the calm cool collected biting your tongue person is AWESOMELY right… yet something prevents you from doing just that. Is it common sense, is it patience, or is it something else?

Have you ever met someone that you sit back later and find yourself saying, “man they have the patience of a saint”? I want to be that person and yet in order to be that person I would have to be tested and tempted and put through the burning “fires” in order to learn from the mistakes of not responding to that annoying person who won’t shut up. So that eventually when that person is talking to get a reaction from me I can have a detachment that allows me to appear to “have the patience of a saint”. Then again I want the genuine thing the kind of patience that still allows me to care for that person yet not get riled up by their ignorance. Is that even a thing that can happen?

I start to question if it’s a good idea to even write this down. I mean right now as I write this my palms are sweaty and my heart is pounding it’s almost like tempting fate asking for lightening to strike. Like ha ha now what do you have? It’s a rhetorical question I am posing here just in case the universe can read and wants to take me up on anything in this section (for the record), but hang with me for another minute. How does one develop the level of amazing grace? The patience of a saint, the kind of love for others that surpasses all logic to where a person can give up their entire weekend to help another person do something and (here’s the shocker) not complain about it. Where another person can give up their possessions and live somewhere else. Or donate all their time and money to the poor and not questions. Even better I ask you this how does a person sit in a coffee shop without ear buds in and listen to the person who sat down next to them uninvited and started talking without looking for the exits?

What is it in those people that sets them apart? Is it a gift? Is it patience? Is it grace? Or is it simply recognizing that we live in a world so broken that the only way any of us are going to heal to give those people who really need to be listened to an ear and someone who cares enough to give them 5 minutes at a shop to listen to their chatter. After all it isn’t personal they picked you because they have to tell someone. Maybe next time instead of taking things so personal or as a personal attack or an inconvenience maybe we should start looking at it as an opportunity to make that person walk away thinking someone out there in this cold world cared enough to listen for 5 minutes or didn’t escalate my being a “jerk” to an even more embarrassing situation. And in return we might experience the whole patience thing that looks really good from a third party looking in from the outside. Or give either way for one person in one moment we were the person with the patience of a saint and after all wasn’t that what this whole article started off being about?