Keeping It Real...

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day on this beautiful Friday! It is 75 degrees today on the Gulf Coast...is it really almost Christmas?!?!

You know, the whole point to "What Will Your Influence Be...?" is to encourage all of us to be intentional, to be positive with all of the people we are blessed to influence by the lives we live. Today I want to encourage us to keep it real, not trying to be perfect or pretending that we are perfect, as we live our lives.

Earlier this week I was speaking with a new Mom at work. She is going through the things all new parents go through...lack of sleep, trying to figure out what different cry's mean, trying not to get frustrated as she now realizes that her life is not just about her any more, etc. At one point I said, "you are 100% normal, we all feel the same things." Suddenly her eyes softened, her countenance changed, like a weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. We talked for quite a while about how all of us have struggles, trials, how none of us have it figured out, etc.

This morning I was listening to the radio and they were talking about a new commercial Arby's has put out. Have you seen it or heard about this? Apparently in their agreement with Pepsi, Arby's is supposed to feature Pepsi in their commercials twice per year. Apparently there was a mistake and Arby's only featured Pepsi once. Their answer? They created a commercial where they state what is listed above...that they were supposed to feature Pepsi twice, they didn't, that they had messed up. No justifications, no spin. Simply admitted that they were wrong. The announcers were talking about how people are loving this commercial because it is "different" and "so rare." Different? Honesty, integrity...they are considered different, they are considered rare. Oh goodness Friends, what has happened?

So on this Friday I want to encourage all of us to simply keep it real. You don't have to be perfect and neither do I. In fact, it is through our brokenness, through our faults & failures that we are most often able to help others. When we hide our faults & failures we create a wall that makes it difficult, perhaps impossible, to speak into the lives of people who truly need us, who would benefit greatly from our stories, from the lives we have lived.

I have great empathy for those who have lost a job, especially coaches. I have been there. I had to tell my little boy we were moving from the only home he had ever known, the place he loved. I felt the panic, the worry, of how I am I going to take care of my family? And I have felt the peace that comes from God. I have seen the redeeming work He does and my family was always taken care of...always! See, I can get down in the mud with someone going through this struggle, let them lean on me for strength for a little while, because I know it will all work out - I have lived it...twice! However for them to know this I have to share my story, I have to make myself vulnerable, I have to keep it real.

You know, none of us was ever expected to be perfect. In fact, the whole reason Jesus Christ exists is because we are all so irretrievably broken that God had to send Jesus so we could eventually make it to Heaven. He knew, despite our very best efforts, we could never make it in our own strength, courage, knowledge or wisdom. It could only be done by grace through believing in, and accepting, the Lord Jesus Christ. So if this is true in matters of eternity, why in the world do we think we can or have to be perfect in our marriages? Families? Friendships? Work? Let's just keep it real...

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your families. I will always help you any way I can.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families.

Kev