Here's the problem people, blogs are like show
and tell. You only put your best material out there, right? Why would you write
about the massive fight you had with your husband last night when instead, you
can show us your cute kids and your new kitchen remodel? Now listen, I’m
not saying don't show those things...please do actually, this is the story of
your life and those things are indeed interesting. Great things happen in life.
Celebrate that. But bad things happen in life too, and when it comes to those
things that create deep wounds, we shut down into ourselves and don't share.
Well maybe a vague side remark on facebook for 400 people to see... But not on
my blog because it's too
personal. Oh and my grandmother is reading this. Oh and some of my co-workers.
The problem is, when we write blog posts
according to what others may think, we churn out watered-down versions of
ourselves. We misrepresent ourselves and dare i say, if you are a Christian,
sometimes we can inadvertently misrepresent the gospel. Jesus came
because we are messed up, not because we have it all together. When we pretend
like everything is perfect, we are doing a disservice to ourselves and to
others. And to the story of our lives. Your story is important...the good parts
and the difficult parts. That's what makes a story good, right? Conflict, love,
overcoming hardships, tension, great happiness...all of it. All. Of. It.
The blog world is weird because we all make it that way. I do too sometimes, yes, so I’m writing this to me as well. I wouldn't say the blog world is a place where one goes to find honesty. That's hard enough to find in the real world, friends...let alone on the "intranet". But imagine a bloggy world where people felt o.k. about posting their struggles? A she-did-it-so-can-i kind of attitude.
My hope is that people start telling the truth (*in as gracious a manner you can conjure) about what's going on in their lives. It's good. It's good for us to put ourselves on the line. It's called vulnerability and it is super-challenging. But it brings about character and honesty. And it also brings people out of the woodwork saying, me too! I'm going through this too! Because we are all going through something. No one is perfect. And people need others to say so.
The blog world is weird because we all make it that way. I do too sometimes, yes, so I’m writing this to me as well. I wouldn't say the blog world is a place where one goes to find honesty. That's hard enough to find in the real world, friends...let alone on the "intranet". But imagine a bloggy world where people felt o.k. about posting their struggles? A she-did-it-so-can-i kind of attitude.
My hope is that people start telling the truth (*in as gracious a manner you can conjure) about what's going on in their lives. It's good. It's good for us to put ourselves on the line. It's called vulnerability and it is super-challenging. But it brings about character and honesty. And it also brings people out of the woodwork saying, me too! I'm going through this too! Because we are all going through something. No one is perfect. And people need others to say so.
