“So where have you been all semester?”

I didn’t even know how to respond because I couldn’t come up with a quick enough lie. The reality is that I haven’t been around. I haven’t really been that social. I haven’t made the biggest effort in the world to hang out with people. I have been intentionally keeping people at a distance.

Truth is, I get scared that people can’t relate to what I think, how I feel, or how I have changed over the past few years. It’s scary to put yourself out there, being open and real with someone, and being exposed to potential judgment.

Have you ever felt like you were so misunderstood that it would be a waste of time to let someone get to know you? I have wasted this semester being trapped in a lie and believing something about myself that just isn’t true. I am slowly starting to believe that there are people who want to get to know me and that I can’t be afraid to show them who I really am.

What is keeping you from letting people in? Maybe you’re too prideful to apologize or forgive someone close to you. Maybe you see something about yourself that you want to change, but it seems too hard or even impossible. Or maybe there is a comfort, a person or a thing, that you hold on too so tightly because you’re scared of what your life would look like without it. I know that feeling well.

But we’re not called to let our comforts and our fears grab hold of us; we are called to love. My ridiculously short life on earth is to be a result of simply just loving my friends, family, and everyone around me. I see more and more that when I choose to keep myself at a distance, physically or emotionally, I am not living out the only true purpose my life has to offer. We tend to make it harder than it needs to be, and it’s actually really simple. Just having the time to spend with someone, or even to talk to someone, could change a life. It could even be yours. So instead of hiding behind our fears and our flaws, we can be real and acknowledge the things in life that hold us back from simply loving those around us.

Maybe instead of pulling out the “I’m too busy” card or putting life-wasters before people, we suddenly become available. We reprioritize our schedules so that life doesn’t just pass us by like it has been, and will continue to do.

I know that it’s time to make myself available. No more walls, no more comfort zones. Someone is waiting for me to encourage them and to BE encouraged in return. It’s time I stop believing the lie that I don’t have something to offer, because even its just showing love, that’s enough.

And it’s not just my time; it’s your time too.

-Dee

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16