Keeping It Real On Social Media!

Every time I go on to Facebook the friends I’m connected with are doing amazing things. I always am fascinated by the image that we portray on social media! Then last week a good friend of mine posted this post on facebook. “I promised a friend that I would tell the truth more on facebook. That I would work harder at “keeping it real.” Here’s chapter one in that storybook. http://silvermine.blogspot.com/2014/05/keeping-it-real.html “ My friend Gail always keeps it real, but she really puts it out there by making a promise. This is what I love about my friends they really challenge me.
Then a good family friend of mine posted this, “We have officially transferred to Hospice care. No more chemo. Wendy will be able to continue her nutrition bag, for which we are very grateful. There is no time frame, other than “one day at a time sweet Jesus…”  Talk about being real.
Then a colleague of mine lost a family pet earlier last week and took time in the beginning part of her membership call to be candid about keeping it real.
Those three messages were a challenge on keeping it more real in my life and on social media.  You see it’s easy to post the happy stuff. Graduations, proms, family events and great milestones and occasions should be shared with our friends and family. In fact I was at a family gathering this weekend where a cousin told me she only posts happy things. I thought that was great! Now, I am not advocating that we should post all the bad things that happen to us.   That would not be good, but every once in a while we should get more vulnerable.  Share something you are going through so others can support you and identify with you.
I post so much content on facebook, and to the best of my ability I keep it real. I don’t try to give the appearance of a fairytale life. I share with my friends and my family and my colleagues a life of laughter, love and growth. I share the fun I have and the struggles in my life.   I laugh and I cry and I bleed like everyone else. I’m not perfect and I make mistakes. And in the midst of this journey, we face some circumstances we would not wish on anyone, like friends having cancer, accidents that happen, things like hurt and pain caused by others. When this stuff happens to us, love is so much stronger, Gods love is stronger.   When we share and when we are real we can help others in life.   Oh, how we all need each other to keep it real! I would love to hear how you keep it real on social media. Drop me a line.

Out Of Africa (PT 2)

When I got to the conference center in Nairobi, Kenya in East Africa to teach, I never know what to expect. Will we have our usual translator? Will there be someone there to translate for us? Will we connect? Will I like her? Immediately I saw some familiar faces and I saw Patricia who translated for us last year. I love Patricia. She is like my twin in Nairobi. We have the same amount of children and we get along and she makes me laugh. She was so touched that Lisa who co taught with me and I returned. She was sad that she would not be able to translate all week for us. Who would do it?
It was mid afternoon on Monday and I was starting to get a bit concerned that some of the other translators were not at the conference and the other leaders did not want to do it. You could tell. And then this women stepped up out of nowhere. I had never met her before. She spoke great English. Her name was Elizabeth. I loved her spunk and her genuineness. And she was also very wise. She shared too, always asking us permission but it was so good.
She shared that she was a teacher in school. She shared that she never married and never had children. Then she shared that she was Emanuel’s mom. Emanuel is shy, talented man at Lifeway who does all the IT and communications. He also is a great worship leader. That is when I put two and two together. When Emanuel was a little boy he lost his parents and family when he was small and he ended up in Nairobi. And Elizabeth took him and many other children and invested in their lives.  In fact, there was women that were at the conference that she helped and nurtured and mentored when they were smaller.  What a legacy!
As we worked closely throughout the week, I got to know Elizabeth and I could see how God gave her an incredible ministry. So many have been under her care as students and she made a difference in the circumstances she was in and became a mother to the motherless.   I was touched.
There is this commercial that used to be on TV that said "Reach Out And Touch Someone".  I don't know most of your circumstances, but I do know that when you put your heart into reaching out to some who needs it, you make all the difference in the world and in their individual lives.  Here is to making a difference one person at a time!