Got It All Together?

Hi everyone,
I am sure you have heard the phrase "He/She just has it all together" or "They've just got it all figured out".  It is used to describe someone who's life seems pretty great to the eye and they just seem to have everything mapped out and planned to a T. Life seems to go so smoothly for them or they appear to take it that way. Someone labeled me with this phrase recently and I took it has a compliment, gave it no more thought, and went about my day. But this week I have been pondering about it more. What made them think that?
Now, during church last week the pastor was talking about a subject that brought it all back. It may seem like I am getting of track but just stick with me. :)  Anyway, he was talking about how God gives us limitless grace no matter what we have done in our past. We have the ability to repent, be forgiven and come to know Him with a fresh new life. There is no divide that He can't cross. Now we as Christians have a tendency to "limit" that grace. We have set up all these traditions and regulations that cloud the true path to God. Instead of Christ being enough we add on all these hoops that you have to jump through to be the "perfect" believer or the "perfect" Christian. It can be manifested in so many ways but we begin to pick and choose our own qualities of a qualified Christian. Often these qualities have a tendency to be related to what we think we are doing good at. We go to church every Sunday, we never doing any work on Sunday, we tithe such and such amount, we pray and read our Bible 10 times a day, or we never ever smoke, or drink, or cuss, have done anything remotely "bad". Let me tell you....we aren't fooling God. These things don't make us Christians. On the surface some people may think we got it going on, but inside we are really just broken, weak, and sinful-natured people who need a Savior to forgive us.  So confession time...for people who think I got all my ducks in a row. I'm great at hiding. I am great at holding everything in so it looks okay. Partial that is because I don't want to bother people with my struggles, I mean everybody has got their own problems right? But the other reason is because I don't want people to see the weak mess that I can be. I want people to think I've got it all under control. No, I'm the girl who lets perfectionism rule her life at times(I mean who loves making mistakes right?), who acts like she's this tough spirit sometimes when ultimately she has spent her fair share of nights crying because she feels lonely, or inadequate, or angry because I didn't say the right things or because I feel like I am too sensitive. The girl who doubts herself and can be her own worst critic. I'm also secretly the girl who from time to time wants to have "her moment" to shine, to hog the attention, to not have to be the kind and sweet Kayleigh all the time because let's face sometimes a lot of people hate you for it and think that you are just pushover spineless baby. Not to mention being kind can hurt at times when people step on your heart and don't appreciate it. And of course this wouldn't have to do with being selfish ever would it? I am not strong at all on my own. I can be a train that comes off the track at times. I have made future plans for myself and wallowed in disappointment when there is a lot of people out there who don't have the ability or chance to have the life I have right now.  I don't have it all together and I sure don't have it all figured out. I do not deserve that title. I have told people things and gave advice on things that I have failed at myself. I have been a hypocrite before...we all have. The truth is we all have our messes and it doesn't matter how "bad" they are. Obviously some things are worse than others and we're not going to into heinous crimes and such but in God's eyes the playing field is the same. For we " all have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God". Romans 3:23 (ESV) We all have sin in our hearts. Not a single one of us is more deserving of God's forgiveness and mercy than the other. We all have our battles we deal with every day. Our weak spots that the devil digs at. So instead of putting those around us down because they do "this" or thinking that somehow we are so much "better" than them and therefore more deserving of God's love, we should be understanding of their struggle and and strive to help them. We need to be  more open and not act like we're "OK" all the time. We need to be real. Also we need to be careful about those we hold in regard. Not that it is bad to have role models, but watch the fine line between that and idolizing someone. Christ should be our true role model.
Now I have to tell you what helps me is to recognize, admit and face your struggles instead of sweeping them under the rug or throwing distracting decorations over them. We want to see the real Christmas tree even if it's a little shabby and uneven. (It's close enough to have a Christmas analogy right? ;) Admit that your areas of weakness and don't be afraid to ask those you trust to help pray for you and those struggles. You don't have to go into to extreme detail if you don't want. But we have to stop pasting on the smile and acting like we are these picture perfect Christians. I think that this is one of the biggest struggles of the modern church today. We are so caught up with looking and sounding the part and we have added all these requirements in addition to Christ that we in a sense play God Himself. We are unconsciously telling people they will never be deserving enough to be a part of His family when the truth is not a single one of us is. That is what grace is about, saving those who have no way of earning it on our own. Granted our lives need to change for the better when when we choose to live for Christ and there has to be fruit, but we are never going to be perfect and we all  will still have our battles to face. But if we face them together and with God's help we will overcome. (Matt. 18:20) So I do not have it all figured out and honestly there are things I am sure I never will. I wake up every day with a challenge I must face, a selfish desire I must die to, choices to make that sometimes I mess up on. Sometimes I win and sometimes I lose, but I have to strive to be better each day. And this is why I keep writing for this blog and how it as grown in different directions that I first imagined. I'm not writing to put myself on some pedestal or to get tons of views, but to share the real life struggles I face in hopes that it can help someone else, so they won't make the same mistakes and to know they're not alone. So here is the line to describe me: I am a messed up sinner saved by God's grace, working to be the best I can be for His Kingdom and my hope is through that I can show others, anything good that comes from me is Christ. So how about we put down the facade, be real with people, stretch out a hand, and be people who "figure it out" together with a loving Father who wants to guide us every step of the way.