Wednesday, July 23, 2008

keeping it real

When I was in college and would walk to campus, I passed tons of friends and we'd exchange the "Hi! How are you?" Everyone would always give the "Great!" response, or sometimes there wasn't a response, because we kept moving, trying to get to class. I remember hearing someone talk about that exchange, maybe at church or even in a class. How many times do we actually stop and wait for an answer? Do we just keep going? Or, do we just give the "Great!" responses and mask that things aren't going well?

Well, lately I've noticed that in an effort to be more real with people, I'll give them the whole story---even if it's not the quick "Everything's wonderful" answer they might want to hear. For example, with a relatively new baby, so many people ask us how we are. My days definitely aren't as easy as they used to be. I don't have as much time to myself, I'm always on the go and feel like I can never sit down, Charlie has reflux and it hurts him, etc. Overall, things are wonderful and we feel truly blessed, but we all have days that are just lousy.

However, I've felt really convicted about giving the whole story lately. Philippians 2:14 says, "Do everything without complaining." I fail at this everyday. It's almost as if I feel like I have the right for things to be perfect, and when they aren't, I'll let anyone who asks know about it. Am I just stating the facts if I let someone know today was tough, or am I complaining?

Okay, just a little pondering thrown into the mix of our Jackson Family adventures. What are your thoughts?

3 comments :

mrchrishill said...

One of my favorite days at Auburn was "Hey Day" which was the one day of the year they passed out name tags, gave out free food and everyone went around the campus saying "Hey" to everyone else by name. It was awesome!

As for keeping it real these days, I've noticed the older we get the more reserved many become in public either out of convenience or fear. Of course I hate this, so I'm the idiot who has to talk to everyone in the elevator each day going up and down the Clark Tower.

If you're ever in the building, let me know, I'm always up for a 30 second awkward conversation.

Lisa Joy said...

Maybe you can balance your desire to keep it real with not complaining by making a point to emphasize the blessings in your life while admitting that the day has felt lousy. Something to the tune of, "We've had a challenging day, but every day is a blessing and I'm so thankful for my kids!" I don't think that's complaining at all, and as a recipient of that answer to a question of "How are you?", I would be grateful for the honesty.

ferniBlog said...

I think it depends on what "season" of life I am in. Sometimes I am very real with people (well, honestly, not everyone...but if you were to ask, I would be real! :) ) and sometimes I just want to get on with life. Sometimes I'm caught in a "talkative" mood, and sometimes I'm not. Life is hard...juggling wifehood and motherhood is hard. Find a few people you can be real with, and be courteous with the rest! :) (Can you tell what kind of mood I'm in now?!?!)

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