This is a bit scary! For all my mummy friends and anyone else
who wants in:
I feel led to start an Instagram photo-a-day challenge.
BUT
it’s different- very different.
It’s vulnerable.
It’s imperfect. Exposing. Unpolished. It’s raw and it’s YOU - warts & all.
Here’s why I’m doing it-
I get so many nice comments and encouraging messages from lovely friends on IG & FB, both from friends and acquaintances that I might not see regularly in real life.
Comments like, “You’re such a great mum”, “You’re so creative”, “I just love seeing your happy children”... etc etc. And while these comments are nice and often true- I can feel a little guilty about the fact that these lovely, encouraging friends don’t get to see the whole picture. They see what I allow them to. I control it. It’s all real, but it’s not complete.
Life is good for me, I am blessed and happy. BUT, it’s also messy. You don’t see that online. Behind my iphone is little old me, not very presentable at all. Lots of insecurities and failings. Uhuh!
I struggle- often.
I feel inadequate- most days.
So I feel a challenge to let some of the mess find its way
to the surface, and dare I say it, share it with you! An article I recently
read spurred this into being. The basic gist was this: in the online FB &
IG world, we can carefully choose to post snippets of our lives we feel are
worthy of sharing. We post the Masterchef meal (NOT last nights lentil slop
that looked like spew- true story), we post the cute smile (NOT the 10 other
terrible shots we took to get it, or the kooky faces we pulled to get the smile
in the first place), we post the beautiful coffee in front of us (NOT the
mountain of mess behind us). We certainly don’t think to run for the camera
when the kids are going nutso or we’re in the middle of a big stinking attitude
cloud. Instead, we might grab our phones in those moments to ‘escape’ to a
happy place in the midst of our own chaos. And to top it off- Pinterest (oh how I love it!) not only inspires us, it also leaves us
feeling not quite as clever, creative
or beautiful as the rest of the 'magazine-ready' world out there (huh). there is so much inspiration, so many ideas, so much to do
and achieve! It’s exhausting.
I don’t think there’s anything much wrong with posting nice things. Of course we want to share good and happy things. That’s GOOD! It inspires. We celebrate the good times. We were originally made for perfection, that’s why we crave it, and long to see it, be a part of other people’s niceness. We feel connected.
BUT SOMETIMES, when our news feeds are full of other people’s carefully chosen, polished, filtered, rosy & hilarious lives- we can feel quite inadequate. We feel like everyone else is doing fine while we feel broken, messy, frustrated or completely frazzled by circumstances or children.
I don’t want this to be a depressing reality check- or so that people will comment and make me feel better. And social media isn’t the place for airing your dirty laundry or diving into the depths of your personal struggles. But it’s also not the place to act like you’ve got it all together, intentional or not! “Me Unmasked” is not a emo-fest or a pity-party. But rather- I want it to liberate others. I want people to break free of fear of judgement, fear of others. To bare our weakness and wounds and make room for God’s strength. To be vulnerable. To offer a more accurate picture of what’s going on in our worlds. I want to be a sister, a friend and an encourager to others. To allow others to be imperfect, and be loved anyway. Because that’s what God does for us. In your weakness, He is made strong. In our imperfection, He loves.
We all long to be fully known- and fully loved, anyway,
despite our shortcomings and ugly parts.
despite our shortcomings and ugly parts.
This challenge is mainly
for me, but I'm letting you in on it, because after much discussion with close
girlfriends, I realise I’m not alone in my feeling of inadequacy.
Christian or not- I
challenge you to take part in “Me Unmasked” . To let go of your carefully
crafted online life. Sabotage it, even! To let go of presenting yourself and
your world so well.
Join me?
I think you’ll find it liberating.
I’m fairly scared and
nervous, but hey- let's do it anyway!
*If we’re not friends already, add me on IG if you’re
in- my username is ‘jlydiak’
Don’t forget to hashtag your posts #meunmasked so we can link to all posts.
Feel free to invite other people to participate.
Don’t forget to hashtag your posts #meunmasked so we can link to all posts.
Feel free to invite other people to participate.
Sometimes you might not have a photo,
but a thought, so be sure to screenshot your notes J
