Keepin' it real

Beautiful mess...why people think Christians are fake...when worship is rough.  These are just a few titles of blog posts I've read recently.  Each author is a Christ Follower and each author delves into that side of being a Christ Follower that gets more than a little messy.  The side that says "life gets rough and we don't have it all together".

I attend church regularly.  I read a lot of blogs by Christ Followers.  I interact with people on a regular basis.  Life gets rough, it gets messy and we don't have it all together, though we would reallllllyyyyyy like to pretend that we do.  There's the crux.  We like to pretend that as Christ Followers life never gets messy.  We shine s***, as a friend would say and then pretend like it isn't, well, you know, and don't.fool.anyone.  I contend, rather loudly, the world does not need to see another Christ Follower pretending that everything is okay.  They need Christ Followers to keep it real.

As a Christ Follower who tries really hard to keep it real, I will say the sentence. "life gets rough and I don't have it all together" but the sentence doesn't end there.  It continues, "and yet, I have hope that I'm not alone in this pit and life will get better."  See, to me, that's what being a Christ Follower is all about.  I may be in a rough patch, I may not be in the happiest of happy places and really feel like life keeps throwing rocks at me, but I have hope.  Not cheesy, fake, I have to say this because I'm a Christian hope, but deep, abiding, feel it to my bones hope that God is there with me.  In the pit.  I don't have it all together. Life is rough and sometimes I feel very much alone (Yes, today is one of those days).  But I have hope that I won't be in the pit forever.  It's the kind of hope that has me laughing through the tears.  Hope that allows me to praise God even when I am ranting at God.  Hope that allows me to sing a song with lyrics such as "Prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love" or "I'm so wretched, overwhelmed with you" with fervor and meaning, not afraid to admit, I don't have it all together.

I am a Christ Follower, I don't have it all together and life is throwing rocks at me...and I have hope.

Just keepin' it real.