My Life Isn't Perfect and Neither is Yours

I absolutely love sitting outside in the evenings, watching my little guy play and just enjoying the fresh air. It's just my way of relaxing and clearing my head before the day is over. However, "clearing" my head often means, overthinking every situation that has happened from my birth until right now (not exagerrating). I created this blog with hopes of being a light of inspiration for others who might be going through those days where you have no where else to turn. I don't claim to know it all. In fact, I know VERY little. But what I do know, is what it's like to cry yourself to sleep night after night. To wonder how you're going to make it through another day and to think there's no way you'll ever be happy again. And because of my very real relationship with Jesus, I also know what's it's like on the other side. To fall asleep smiling, to wake up excited for a new day, and to feel joy and hope and happiness again. 

With that being said, I don't ever want people to look at me at think, "That girl has it all together", because I don't. I still cry, I still get mad, I still have insecurities and I still question God when I don't understand. I've always tried to be very real and honest in my blog posts, even if what I have to say isn't always the easiest to talk about. I believe that it takes guts to talk about the "messy parts" of your story. It's never easy and it always hurts, so we choose to hide it deep down and prefer not to dig it up. The outside of your life might look great, but it's the inside that's not always as pretty as we want others to see. The same can be said of social media, where we only showcase the very best parts of lives for others to see. I'll be the first to admit that I'm guilty of this. But what I am more guilty of, is looking at other people's pictures and thinking their life is perfect compared to mine. I see girls with expensive outfits, flawless bodies, immaculate houses, and happy marriages. Don't get me wrong, those things are all great! But what we get caught up in is thinking that their lives are perfect, while thinking that our lives are less than. This is a constant struggle for me, and I know it is for many others as well. 

So I have some confessions to make.... Here's what was really going on when I posted these pictures on social media. 

This was taken THE DAY AFTER I found out that my life would never be the same. My heart was completely shattered inside, but you'd never know it from the outside.

I always dreaded going to sleep alone, so I would stay up into the late hours of the night and early morning, just to avoid it. 

Just minutes after posting this picture, Carter was bitten in the face by my dog at the time. It was THE scariest moment of my life as a mother. 

My divorce was final on this day. There's no way to really understand this feeling, unless you've been through it. 

This pie was anything but an easy process. I wasn't wearing a cute little apron and dancing around while birds chirped outside my window.  My son was throwing brand-new toilet paper rolls I had just bought, into the sink water. He added an extra cup of sugar to the crust and spilt water and flour all over the counter. And then threw-up (not near the pie) all before the pie was ready to go in the oven.

So why am I telling you these things? Because things aren't always as they seem! Am I saying that we should all start posting about our personal lives and the negative things about our days all over social media? ABSOLUTELY NOT. But what we should all keep in mind is that NO ONE'S life is perfect. What if you knew that the girl with the immaculate home, her marriage is falling apart? That girl with the beautiful marriage, she can't get pregnant. That girl with the amazing wardrobe, she just lost her job. That girl with the flawless body, she's battling depression. The list could go on and on, because no ones life is as perfect as it seems.

It truly breaks my heart when I see young girls posting things that say, "You're perfect" or "Can I just be you??" Or "___ goals" on social media pictures. GIRLS, God made you, YOU!! He doesn't make mistakes, He made you just how he wanted you. The number of "likes" on your photo does not determine how valuable you are or how much God loves you. He gave you gifts, talents, hopes and dreams that are unique to only you! And he gave them to you for His purpose. Imagine if we put more emphasis on using our God given gifts to serve Him, rather than wishing we were living in someone else's life. God wants you to be the best YOU that you can be. 

I don't say any of this to deter you from posting on social media, because I LOVE posting pictures! But lets stop making assumptions about other's lives, which only plants seeds of discontentment in your heart. So the next time you see my pictures, just assume that my home isn't really THAT clean, I just cropped out the toys and a huge pile of laundry. I probably haven't slept or washed my hair in 3 days, I'm wearing the same outfit from the day before, and I've probably got some huge decision or situation lying heavily on my heart. And I'll go ahead and guess that your life probably looks a lot like mine.  

So I hope that you will join me this week, in doing away with that "Perfect Life Filter" that doesn't really exist. Because my life isn't perfect, and neither is yours. 

Have a wonderful week!!

Much love,

Brittani