Over the past two summers, I have learned a very important lesson from my girl's staff leader, Cassie. Every time she led girl's staff devotions, it seemed like she always said 'I know it is important for me to be open and vulnerable with you girls.' I admired her for her honesty and was grateful that she spoke freely with us.
Because of her openness, I have learned to be open. I can be real with others. I can show close friends that I am a broken mess, mended only by Jesus' loving hands. When I am real with others, they see that there is no such thing as a perfect Christian, because we all fail. We seek Christ, but there is always that time when we don't make the cut, when we don't succeed because we tried to do something on our own. Regardless of outward appearances, we are all broken whether we want to admit or not. By showing our true colors to those who genuinely care, we are a testimony of Christ, of His goodness and His grace.
Life is good, because the Lord makes it good. And if I tell a person that I am "good" or everything is great, that is true. But that doesn't mean I am perfect, or that Jesus is done working on me. We are all a work in progress until the day we take our last breath and get to be with the Lord forever.
"He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? But to seek justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God." Micah 6:8
