From Lies to Truth!

The most beautiful part of life here on earth is the gift of relationships. Relationship w/ God + relationships w/ ppl.

For a long time I called myself an introvert. I made peace w/ my loneliness + neglected opportunities to establish deep community. I found happiness in remaining in my bubble - w/ people that I related to. My eyes for the people around me were harsh + critical because I had an on-going narrative playing in my head that compelled me to assume the worst about everyone's intentions.

The thoughts in my head sounded something like

"people aren't trustworthy...."

"no one understands me..."

"I'm not like those people..."

"I'd rather be alone..."

"I'm just a home body..."

"people are so fake..."

Those thoughts were loud, and convincing.

Like prison walls, they kept me living a dull life...

but at the time, I didn't know it was dull.

I unintentionally developed a pattern of thinking that impressed itself into my identity...

"I'm a follower of Jesus....and an introvert...

a christian....and antisocial...

a believer...and intolerant of duplicitous people...

a lover of God...but not interested in being with people who are different than me..."

This is the identity I was trying to live in....and it felt right - but failed to fulfill me.

Then God must have prompted me to wonder: 

"What would happen if I stopped trying to maintain who i think i am....?"

"What if I would just let go of the parts of my personality that feel comfortable and normal to me....?"

When I started to ask questions and think outside of the boundaries of familiarity ....all the sudden, it's like my "personality" lost its grip on me and something else grabbed my heart.

Jesus started to radically transform me from the inside out.

Jesus let me know that I am not an introvert, I just get refueled by stillness + time spent alone with Him.

Jesus let me know that He is trustworthy and that can be enough to give me confidence in any situation.

Jesus let me know that He understands me, and if no one else ever does, that's okay - because he was and is often misunderstood, too.

Jesus let me know that I am a unique reflection of Him and so is everyone else. We all reflect different aspects of who He is, so how will I get to know Him better if I isolate from others who are made in His image?

Jesus let me know that even if home is a place of rest for me, just outside the walls of my home are opportunities that will stretch me + mold me into a woman of courage and love.

Jesus let me know that people aren't fake, but they might be lost in a false identity. Maybe they're hurting or afraid - like me.

Jesus let me know that humans are just searching for who they are - not always sure why they exist - seeking some kind of approval from the people around them by shape shifting and becoming whoever they think they need to be in order to be loved.

So at the end of the day, people just want to be loved?????

me too.

He let me know His love for me would give me everything I need in order to overcome the fears and insecurities that were telling me,

"People are more likely to hurt you than love you, so you might as well identify as an introvert."

And so I detached from the lie that "I am an introvert because people are more likely to hurt me than love me." And I received the truth that "the love Jesus has for me gives me confidence to be who I truly am, even around people that don't love who I am."

The voice of Jesus spotlights truth. And truth sets us free!!!! The love of Jesus set me free to be who I really am, wherever He leads me.

This doesn't mean Im never tempted to use my old thoughts as reasons to disengage or be frustrated and hurt by people....

But it does mean that I have a story to tell about the difference between my life dominated by fear and lies, and my life dominated by the love of Jesus.

Maybe God's inviting you to surrender your own idea of who you are so that He can lead you into a life that demonstrates your true identity fearlessly!

Maybe He's inviting you to accept that His love for you is enough, and His love is the truth that will set you free to walk into any circle of people unbothered by their opinion of who you are, because God already let you know you are His. :)

I pray God reveals to you what lies in your life His love is ready to demolish.

-kira <3