Inspired to be Relatable

"Aim to be relatable rather than impressive and you'll never fail to amaze those around you. The time is always right to be real, to be you." ~Julianne Wilson

This afternoon I read a post by Julianne Wilson that inspired me entitled, My Un-Instagramable Life. The gist of the post was to express how we as a society focus too much on projecting the perfect life in order to impress those around us and "win people over". Too often there is a pervasive tendency to promote perfect lives that just don't exist. I, too, am guilty of this, so don't think that I'm sitting here pointing fingers. I sometimes post pictures to Instagram wondering how many people might enjoy the sunset or entertaining shirt I just picked up. There's nothing necessarily wrong with posting things from your life, but if the vibe you're giving off is that nothing ever goes wrong, then you're lying not only to your followers, but also to yourself.
Julianne Wilson's honest blog post made me sit back and examine my own life. There have been moments this week that weren't as "happy go lucky" as pictures or tweets might have let on. I had moments of confusion wondering what I'm going to do with my life once I actually get back home. I had moments of sadness missing home, my family, cat, and certain friends. I've dealt with feeling helpless because I want to assist friends stuck in difficult situations, but I don't have the means to do so at the moment. I felt frustration over silly things like wishing my career would actually start or that there'd be time for me to visit friends I haven't seen in months, and the fact that I still struggle with anxiety even when I'm around people that I know well. Heck, I've even had moments of jealousy when on Instagram and paying more attention to what other's supposedly have, rather than focusing on what God has blessed me with this week.
None of this is at all impressive, but it certainly is relatable, and that's the point. It made me look back on friendships I've forged in this past year, ones that I'm thankful for and even sometimes wonder why they came into being, and I realized something. Those friendships had nothing to do with how "impressive" my life has been the past year. They had nothing to do with perfection, beauty, or what I could provide financially. All of the friendships were formed because we could relate to one another in a particular way, and that is way more powerful than people approving of me based on my social media posts. As C.S. Lewis wrote, "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'" 

When I seek to encourage somebody, I don't say, "Hey, go look at my Instagram photos and see what kind of life you could be enjoying." Rather, I send them quotes, books, or songs that I believe that they can relate to given their particular situation. On top of that, I tend to be able to send some form of encouragement in some form because God has blessed me with a similar situation in which I can relate personally to what they're going through. Over the past year I've definitely learned that a great ministry tool is being open about your own personal struggles with those you meet because you never know who is going through the exact same trial. I was affirmed in this feeling when I was reading The Church Awakening by Charles Swindoll because he wrote that some of the best ministry advice that he got from Jim Petersen was, "Chuck, let people see cracks in your life, and you'll be able to minister to them." In essence, he was to be relatable, not a "perfect" pastor up on a pedestal who seemed unreachable.

Looking back at the teachings of Jesus, you'll notice that His parables related to daily life for the people of that time. Though the purpose of the parables was to weed out those who could truly understand what they were hearing from those who couldn't, what He spoke on were relatable topics, such as farming or making bread. What we also must remember is that because Jesus is fully human and fully God, He can relate to each and every experience we ever have or will encounter. Jesus understands disappointment, loss, betrayal, and disgrace more than anybody else you'll ever meet, which is why He should be the first one you always run to in crisis. He is the only one who can make you feel whole again, but if you're in need of someone tangible, He will place someone along your path who can relate to what you're going through. We were designed to carry each other's burdens, which is what Paul wrote in Galatians 6:2. But in order to carry each other's burdens, we must be willing to open up about the fact that our lives are not as perfect as we might have hoped. You'll never truly relate to anybody until you admit your shortcomings, weaknesses, and struggles.

One last thing before I close out this post. I'm aware that not everybody is into punk rock or electronica music, but a band that I believe writes straight from the heart on everyday topics is Icon for Hire. They just came out with a new album last week and I'll admit that on the first listen through, it's hard to understand the lyrics. If you're willing to get past that and listen intently, or at least just read through the lyrics, I believe that you'll all be able to find a song that speaks to you, whether it involves a past or present experience. So I'll leave you with links to their full album and lyrics if you'd like to check it out.