Sleep and Masks, Who Needs Them?

Have you ever had one of those nights when it's late, you know you need to sleep, but you just can't fall asleep?  Instead your mind is on active overdrive, going from one thought to another.  That's me!

Tonight while my mind was on overdrive, I got to thinking about people.  Mainly us ladies.  For the most part I think all of us like to think we have it all together.  Being the wonder wife, incredible loving mother, that our schedules are full with exciting activities, that we have nicely put together homes, that we are fantastic chefs, etc.  Well, at least that's the front we want everyone to believe. 

Why is it we feel we can't be real, we can't be honest?  It seems like no on wants to talk about their everyday struggles.  Things we all face at one point in time or another.   Hopefully we are learning from the things in which we deal with...so if we are learning from them, wouldn't we want to share and help someone else.  Oh that's just it, we don't want to admit that that is something we are or have struggled with therefore we don't talk about it.

Maybe you really struggling with self-image, maybe your marriage is going through a rocky patch, maybe you feel frustrated and discouraged with your kids, maybe your finances are in shambles, maybe you need some accountability or encouragement with your devotionals.  Maybe just maybe you need a FRIEND!  Not an acquaintance, but a FRIEND!  A friend who excepts us for us.  One who is there to laugh with you, cry with you, offer advise to, or just be silent with.  Maybe just maybe we need a FRIEND who we don't have to pretend around.  Who excepts us no matter what is behind the mask.  The one we can call up and say, "Hey, today just sucks", or "I just feel so down about myself and how I look", or "Man, money is tight, I don't know where to begin".  Instead we just carry on as if nothing is wrong and we are just hunky dory.

God is calling us to be real not fake.  Let's put down the masks and open ourselves up to realness.  The realness that we all need help, we all need to vent, we all need an encouraging word.  Whether we want to admit it or not we all need help through the everyday battles that we face. 

Ladies, Jesus is a friend to all.  He is our biggest fan.  He knows our past, present and future.  He knows when we are falling and when we fail, but He is right there to catch us.  He will dust us off, straighten us out, and get us back on course.

I've learned over the years that people will come and go, but "Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" - Hebrews 13:8.