Be YOU!

Most of my life, I did everything I could to fit in. I wanted so desperately to be accepted that I often conformed to being someone other than my true self. Quite honestly, I was totally oblivious to my authentic self; I had no idea who God created me to be.

As long as those I deemed cool accepted me, that's all that really mattered to me. I was afraid to be me, because I didn't think that anyone would like me for who I truly was. I didn't think the real me was cool enough to be loved and accepted in the eyes of man.

Retrospectively, I see that at the end of the day I was a fraud, deceiving others by pretending to be someone that I wasn't. I was merely building relationships based on lies, simply because I was too afraid of possibly having to stand alone. All the while, insulting God by refusing to accept the fact that He perfectly created me.

Today, I am so thankful that God has become the most important factor in my life. My focus is no longer upon being accepted by man, and fitting in to cliques or the popular crowd. My main focus is to be the best authentic me I can be, embracing the perfect creation God meticulously designed me to be.

Now, don't get me wrong. Feeling loved and accepted is something we all want; however, it is far better to be accepted for who you truly are than for someone you're pretending to be. Love and acceptance built upon false pretenses will not last.

When God began to open my eyes to my true identity in Him, I had to peel back layers of conformity before I could even get a glimpse of my true self. Coming into the real me, I struggled to hold on to relationships. It was as if I had to start all over, and reintroduce myself. This time, totally authentic. Some accepted me, some didn't.

It was then that I realized something -- Real or fake, there will always be those who simply will not accept you.

All too often, we spend so much time altering ourselves to fit the likings of others. This is a recipe for disaster. You will never be able to fully satisfy people. There will always be something you need to change in order to keep up with their expectations. Why put yourself through that?

It's much easier to just be YOU. No masks, no false pretenses, no deception -- true authenticity. One of the greatest things we can do to please God is to realize that we were fearfully and wonderfully made, a perfectly beautiful masterpiece created by His hands. And since God is perfect in all of His ways and all of His works are marvelous, then guess what? You and I are perfectly marvelous creations. Why not embrace that?

Do you have any idea how amazing you are? Do you know how much your uniqueness adds to the world around you? Are you aware of the fact that who you are is so special that God made no other person exactly like you? 

Keeping your true identity hidden is a disservice to the world...to the Kingdom. Forget about who doesn't like you, understand you, or want you around because you're different. God made you for HIS purpose, not to please people.

Love who you are. Embrace those things that set you apart from everyone else - your eyes, your skin tone, your hair, your personality, your likes, your interests. They all make you so incredibly beautiful.

From my heart to yours...