Be Your Authentic Self

Welcome back to my Write 31 Days series on, Making a Full House a Home For Two.  We are talking about life after our children leave our little nest that we have spent many years building.   Our kiddos have left and are now soaring like eagles. If you are like me, you looked at yourself in the mirror and said, “Now what?”

Yesterday we talked about Embracing the life that we have, right now.  We don’t want to be wishing it away or saying, “I’ll work on that later.”  We have now and we need to embrace where we are in life.  That doesn’t mean we don’t strive to make it better, it means, we are real with ourselves and build on where we are and what we have.

Today, let’s talk briefly about being you!

As I mentioned earlier that after our children have left home and we look in the mirror and we say, “Now what?”  Who do you see?  You are now entering into a new season of life and it’s important to know who you really are.  I don’t look at it as losing yourself while raising your children and we will be talking about that in other posts, but, you are now beginning a new way of living.  Remember, I love journaling and writing things down, so, make a list of the things that will be different in your life now.  Your schedule will look different, the way you spend your free time, you may be able to do more ministry or volunteer work somewhere or travel more with your husband….the list will be all so different for everyone.

If you are really brave, you will write out a description of who you are.  What are your likes, your dislikes, your standards.  What is your personality?  It’s important to know and accept your self as you are.  Don’t try to design your life just like someone else or try to act just like someone else.  I love the saying,  “there is only one you, all of the others have been taken.”  

There is nothing wrong with admiring something in someone else’s life and incorporating those things to build on who you are, but don’t try to be just like someone else.

I grew up very shy and still am to this day.  Shy people are intimidated very easily.  We also are very fearful (at least I was) of being ourselves.  So very afraid of doing something wrong or someone not liking us.  We are sensitive and can pick disapproval up very easy.  Some people can be insensitive and cruel.  I know, shock, right?  Shy people will withdraw and just keep thoughts, feelings and emotions to themselves due to the fear of those people.  That is how I was for many years.  I became a Christian as a young teen and my world changed.  I knew I was designed, loved and accepted by my Heavenly Father.  He had a purpose for my life and I slowly grew out of my fear of the judgement of people by knowing the only one that mattered loved me just the way I was.

Whew, I could go on and on about the life of a shy girl, but, the point today is…be you.  Don’t worry about others.  God designed you to accomplish certain things in your life and He has given you the tools to do that.  Don’t get into bondage by thinking you have to be or act like someone else.

Okay, I’ll give you one more example.  The last several years, I have had the honor of speaking to different groups of women.  Oh my, the first time, I literally thought I would die before my time came to step up to that microphone.  All I knew to do was, just be me!  Of course, I studied in the proper way to give a speech, voice control (I have a very soft voice, unless I’m mad), making eye contact and all those important things in speaking.  Since I was a young teen, I have loved watching and listening to many speakers.  I knew everyone of them had their own style.  They weren’t all the same, right?  But, I was a bit nervous that others would judge me as not being like some of the great speakers they have heard before.  A lesson I learned early on; don’t watch Beth Moore (isn’t she awesome) before I have a speaking engagement.  The enemy likes to whisper in my ear, “you are nothing like her, no one will listen to a word you have to say.”  But, then when I listen to the voice of my Savior, He says, “be who I designed you to be and bring honor and glory to My name.”

All that to say….Be your authentic self……be who God designed you to be and bring honor and glory to His name in everything you are, say and do.  Don’t be an imitation of someone else.  Know yourself…..you have things that need to get done in this life and only you can do them!

Let’s do this!

If you missed the previous posts in this series of “Making a Full House a Home for Two,” click here to get the links.

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