Do you ever wonder if you are being deceived OR that you are deceiving others by not fully being who God created you to be? There are many days when it seems part of me aren’t being unveiled; that I’m holding back who I am with the world. And it hurts. It hurts to deceive and be deceived by others; to keep locked inside huge pieces of who I am. I want to be known for my gentleness but I also want to be known for the broken pieces of my heart too.

And then I wonder, am I alone or are there others who are hurting and feeling deceived or that they are deceiving others? Sometimes that deception comes because we are afraid. Afraid of how we will be perceived. Afraid of showing the vulnerable pieces of our heart. The thing is we all yearn to be loved and known as your beloved children–complete in who you have created us to be.

There is a holiness and freeness that comes when we are known and loved; when we don’t hold back any pieces of ourselves. When we are loved because of and not inspite of who God calls us to be, there is an openness and beauty to being known by the world. Yet it’s not at all easy to sell ourselves and our gifts with the world.

Love opens our hearts to love each other for all we are created to be; to not hold back those damaged pieces of our soul; to not be someone we are not; to lean in to the fullness of who we are created to be. God loved us so much that God sent God’s Son into the world to “save the world and not condemn it.”

Is this the kind of love we are willing to fully lean into and embrace as 100% of who God calls us to be? I believe so with every fiber of my being knowing and trusting that love will open my heart, soul, and mind to be everything God calls me to be and calls you to be too!