Life is Too Short to Be Anyone But You

I woke up this morning in my favorite Smurf PJ pants, threw my hair up in a messy bun, and wrapped myself up in my bright red robe.

I felt accomplished.

I did it.

I conquered.

And I was ready to take on more of this morning.

I danced around the apartment cleaning up what I had neglected to notice during the week- the dirty dishes, the fuzz from a pillow my boxer decided to chew up, and my husband’s socks. Really, how do they end up everywhere?

And there was just something about it that felt GOOD!

I was happy to turn up my favorite playlist (Lauren Daigle is my girl!), and belt out lyrics of praise while touching socks that haven’t been washed since who knows when.

It was an overwhelming good to be doing me this Friday morning, waltzing around in my red robe of confidence.

Then, I heard it.

The whimpers of my pups coming from the bedroom, waking up to begin their chaos, followed by the meows of cats reminding me to check their litterbox.

Worship cleaning session had to be put on pause because Sully can only hold his bladder for so long and Nova’s cries would soon turn into anxious barks.

Flip flops were on, leashes secured, and as I was unlocking the door, the shame hit me.

You are wearing Smurf pants. You can’t go out like that.

Your hair is barely up anymore (fell out from the dancing), don’t let your neighbors see you like this.

That sense of happy and confidence in my morning attire quickly went away.

Sorry dogs, you are going to have to wait.

I fixed my hair, threw on a cute headband, and started looking for an alternative pair of pants, you know, something that would at least match the red.

By the time I found a pair of pants, I’m pretty sure that Sully had already peed by the door.

I stared in the mirror, wow Madi, all that effort just to take the dogs out and “impress” the neighbors that might not even be outside.

At this point I just felt silly, especially since I realized this was not the first time this had happen to me.

In fact, I let things like this happen almost daily.

I let the pressures of this world, the high expectations that are outside my apartment walls steal the joy I find in being who I am.

Why is it that when we open the doors to reality, we restrict ourselves from being who we really are?

Because, let’s not lie, we all have those red robe moments where we feel at our best.

We have an old sweatshirt that we find confidence in.

We have a way of doing life that makes us happy.

We have a way of being ourselves that is pure, but the second we go to unlock the apartment door, the world takes that away.

See we are supposed to find joy in the Lord, and the Lord wants us to be exactly who we are, but yet the enemy steals that away.

One moment I was dancing around my apartment nodding my bun around as I sang, then the next I was in the bathroom fixing my hair.

I enjoyed thirty minutes of me time, and the enemy took that away in one.

And all I had to do was endure a few minutes outside in my best attire, meaning my Smurf pants and red robe, while the dogs did their business, so that I could come back inside and finish my jam session.

But the enemy didn’t even want that.

So not only did I lose out on my motivated morning moment, but I also didn’t even get the dogs out in time.

The enemy will do absolutely everything he can to stop you from being true to who you are.

I’ve talked about the dirty game of comparison he causes us to play.

But, he also likes to include these moments of weakness.

Moments where you feel too ashamed to go outside being yourself.

This is a battle I have not yet conquered either because this weakness takes away more than just what it took this morning.

It leaks into so many other areas of my life, too.

It affects my friendships, my way of life.

It affects how I am motivated, how I make choices.

It affects my time!

I find myself restricting who I am around people because of that pressure to be someone I am not.

I find myself tearing down my own boundaries to fit in and please people.

But this is not how God wants us to live.

Positive relationships and circumstances shouldn’t pressure us to be or act differently.

We shouldn’t have to hide parts of ourselves because we feel ashamed.

We shouldn’t have to change our thoughts or opinions to match others.

No we should be able to be who we are without fear or shame of affecting others.

And if we are surrounded by people who cause this in our lives, then we have to reevaluate because this is not how we are meant to live.

We should be surrounded by people that see all sides of us and love us anyway.

We need to have relationships that BETTER us rather than degrade us.

We should be impacted positively by those we make time for in our lives, not negatively.

We should be able to unlock the door and walk out as exactly who we are without feeling like we need to change beforehand.

I have been held captive by this shame and pressure for too long.

I have restricted by thoughts and opinions, and kept myself from speaking up when I know I need to say what’s on my heart.

I closed pieces of me around people to prevent them from seeing who I was because of the fear of judgement.

But now, I am no longer going to live this way.

I want to bring my red robe with me all throughout life.

Okay, not really because I know my boss probably wouldn’t appreciate me showing up looking like I just rolled out of bed, but you get my point.

Bring whoever you are with you wherever you go.

If someone cannot handle that then they do not need to take up a part of your life.

If they are embarrassed by your quirks, then they don’t deserve a piece of you.

Life is too short to be anyone but you.

Life is too short to surround yourself by people who don’t appreciate all you are.

Life is too short to waste time worrying about what other’s think about you.

Be you.

Walk outside in your robe.

Smile at every opportunity that comes your way.

Approach life with your true self.

Don’t stop and change first.

Don’t wait until it’s too late and you are staring in the mirror, and your dog is already peeing.

Just open the door and go.

Wave at whoever see’s your messy bun and turns away.

Then, go back inside and FINISH your moment.

Keep dancing, keep singing, and keep staying true to you.

That is PURE joy right there.

MKG

#BeYou #RedRobeMoment #BeingMe