By AbbyA

Authenticity is all about living in uncertainty.  JMathis  Think about it.  The very moment you decide to wear the inside on the outside.  Such as, speak a word of encouragement to someone you don’t know that well by using your own embarrassing past to make the point.  Such as, revealing you also sometimes feel isolated, alone and different.  Such as, admitting that you rely more on chocolate than God.  Such as . . .  Think about what you are hiding because it reveals too much about the real you.  That is the such as that I am talking about.

The very moment you open your mouth to share the such as.  At the very moment, you decide to go-out-on-limb, The Map pauses the fire in your gut and flashes for you a nice, clean path from A to Z.  That is, from the school pick up line, directly to your car.  That is, pass her quickly on the way to office kitchen because you are too afraid to mention to her that you too had a recent miscarriage.  That is, run like hell from the chance to wear your heart on your sleeve . . . even if to serve a greater purpose.

In the pause between running like hell and being you, The Map gives you mileage comparisons between the go-out-on-limb option and status quo.  You get construction warnings informing you of the upcoming detours if you recalculate off The Map.  You get news of the potential loss of satellite if you tread too far into the unknown.  In the pause, you only have a moment to turn off the GPS and be in the moment.  You only have a moment because once that moment passes, you have lost your ability to be authentic in that place, to that person, to yourself and to God.

JMathis, Bindu and I have seen and touched the face of authentic.  We’ve seen between this trinity of friends that – – all at the same time – – one can be unemployed, job-searching, staying up all night with a sick child, depressed, moving away, triumphant with healing of a marriage, missing her dog, finding a job, finding herself.  All at the same time.  Yes, this is the such as that I am talking about.  Yes, this is the moment I am talking about.  All at the same time.  Three girls seeing that life is made to be authentic whether we embrace living in the moment, or not.

You only have a moment to be authentic before the opportunity passes.  You only have a moment to trash The Map no matter how practical, how appealing, how promising or how smooth the grass feels when you walk the path of The Map.  If you will cross over from time lines to relationships, from handshakes to sharing handkerchiefs and from nicety to authenticity.  Something may happen.  And it looks like the body of Christ.

It looks like revealing just enough of the real you.  So that she can be just enough of the real her.  So that both of you can live out your authenticity in Him.  Nothing could be simpler.  Nothing can be more promising.  Or more uncertain.  Or more powerful.  Than being the real you.