vulnerability & authenticity

Hey friends!!

I don’t know about you, but I am a relational person. My favorite days are full of coffee dates, deep conversations, hearing about other’s lives, & doing life in community with family & friends.

If I could, I would skip the small talk in most aspects of life. Whether ordering coffee, in professional settings, a quick phone call with my mom, or visiting with a friend at church, I wish that in some sense, all interactions could cut straight to the deep & real & heaviness. I treasure getting to see the sorrows & joys in other’s lives. Obvi, there’s some discretion & discernment with appropriate sharing, but I trust you probably have some awareness there too.

“2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.”

Galatians 6:2

I love this verse particularly in NLT because it so simply says, ‘you are not that important.’ Guess we can’t be too high & mighty, friends. Haha the bluntness of the Word of God is often exactly what our pride needs.

As believers, I think vulnerability and authenticity are really traits that we are called to. And that may be a lot harder for some people that others. Ever since the fall in Genesis 3, we suffer feeling guilt and shame. This may be an accurate & necessary shame that convicts us to see sin in our lives, or a misplaced desire to cover up something in our lives out of pride or holding ourselves higher that we should. In reality, we all need Jesus and are living in constant refining and seeking His glorious ways. 2 Cor. 3:18

“Can we meet to hug & cry?” A text I sent recently last minute to a dear friend. She quickly replied & by God’s grace, was happy to drop everything and meet me half an hour later. I walked up to her with two cups of coffee & tears already filling my eyes. My heart was heavy as I navigated a painful relationship dynamic, and I was thankful she was open to hearing my processing and sharing wisdom with me. With no questioning or small talk to ease in, I jumped into the challenges my heart was carrying. We walked through neighborhoods on this chilly evening for an hour with tears from both of us, and my sorrows and joys were graciously met with understanding.

This is a friend who has been close for a couple years, and we have joyfully shared many days & coffee dates where one or the other of us was burdened with emotion. What a sweet aspect of biblical community – God gives us each other to encourage, bear one another’s burdens, and share in the joys.

I am thankful for how God uses relationships & friends in our lives. What a tangible reminder of God’s love to have a sweet human with comforting words to remind each other of the truth that we share while serving our Savior. We both walk this challenging life full of ups and downs, and God often blesses us & strengthens us through others.

So maybe your heart is overwhelmed by this. Maybe you can’t imagine having a close enough friend or family member that you would share hard things with. This is where some challenges come in.

Do you have a trusted mentor or friend you could bring situation to?

Or would your marital struggle, season transition, job loss, or relationship struggle go unseen?

Are you pursuing these relationships? Maybe some aspects of that are another post for another day. But in short - being known requires great vulnerability, putting yourself out there. Going through the awkward initial invites to dinner or coffee. The scary sharing of your life little bits at a time; while inviting others into vulnerability & hearing about their lives and sorrows and joys as well. It’s hard. But it’s a worthy calling.

Are you fulfilling this? Do you know the trials & celebrations of those around you?

This is an encouragement to seek those relational depths. I get it, I’m not always excelling at this, so I am learning alongside you.

I don’t know about you, but I desire deeply to be known. My prideful self-preservation often hesitates to express the deep vulnerability that was shown in this friend interaction. It’s hard to show such raw & broken aspects of our lives. And yet, that depth is often what leads to the greatest levels of connection and emotional intimacy in sharing life. The most successful way I have found to be known is to share my own heart, love, and life, and in return, listen with grace and openness when other’s trust me with their lives and hearts. What a sweet opportunity we have to love another brother or sister in Christ through connection and our shared hope of the gospel.

So what can you do to show up with vulnerability & authenticity & invite others into that as well?

Bye for now!