Monday, February 25, 2013

Lenten Challenge, Day 13: Cover

At a work team-building day a few years ago, my fellow co-workers and I each had to think of some fact about ourselves that none of the others knew. We listed them, put them up on a corkboard, and then had to guess which fact belonged with which co-worker. Some people you could guess right away, some took a little more thought, and still others I wouldn't have guessed in a million years.

It's situations like those that make me wonder how well we really let people get to know us. How much do we share, and how much do we keep under cover? Does my neighbor know I'm an editor at Hallmark? Do my co-workers know I like to have jammie days on the weekends? Do my friends know that I tend to cuss a lot? Okay...maybe that one is pretty obvious.

And maybe where I work, and the fact that I like being cozy on the weekends isn't that big a deal in the grand scheme of things, but what about the bigger stuff? I know I share my joys, but am I as open about the things I struggle with? Probably not.

But if we're meant to be sharing this life together, to be living in community with one another, why do we only share what's on the surface and keep the real stuff under cover? Sure, it's a defense mechanism to protect ourselves from the jerks out there, but what about the people who really care? What about the people who genuinely want to become a bigger part of our lives?

I think those people deserve our truest self...good, bad, cussing and all.

1 comment:

Stephanie Mutert said...

Whoa, lady...startin to sound like Franssens! :) Excellent, friend!