I Know I'm Not The Only One . . .

I know it, I just know it.  I know I'm not the only one.  Still, I've yet to find evidence.  I've been searching Facebook and Pinterest and Instagram looking for proof, but I've come up with nothing.  I just know that I can't be the only one.  The only one with laundry still unfolded, dishes piling up in the sink, and a complete lack of healthy organic freezer meal planned for tonight's dinner.  Or maybe I am. . . .

I must be.  Everywhere I look (on social media) there are perfectly planned, purchased, and prepared meals.  (Did you see how I alliterated that?)  All of your houses look like they should be featured in an issue of HGTV magazine.  Your children look like little angels and you're husband brought home flowers.  How can my life possible measure up?

Okay, maybe that isn't entirely true.  Still, don't you sometimes feel that way when your Facebook feed is filled with gorgeous photos, exciting announcements, and creative ideas?  It's easy to see the perfectly crafted world of social media and compare it to the sometimes less than perfect reality that is our lives.  

Here's what I think may be the problem.  I think, for the most part, you're like me.  You are careful about what you post.  You're not going to share how you failed today.  You aren't going to post pictures of your messy house.  You are going to look for absolutely the most flattering photo possible to post.  You don't want to share the difficulties of life with the entire internet.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not suggesting that you use Facebook to share your life's drama and misery with the world.  No one wants that.  Still, I think we should reconsider how our interactions on social media may discourage others.  Social media tends to read like a brag book.  I'm guilty of it myself (a lot).  I don't update my status to let everyone know that my house is a disaster and the kids are cranky and I just want to crawl back in bed.  No, I just don't update my status until I have something fabulous to share.  

I found myself face-to-face with this online form of bragging just a little over a month ago on our anniversary.  My sweetheart had poinsettias delivered as a surprise.  I love poinsettias.  We had a Christmas wedding.  I love red.  They were perfect flowers.  Wonderful!!!  I had something to tell my Facebook friends (a.k.a. bragging).  I posted this photo to my page.  Yes, my husband had sent me flowers (although technically they really aren't flowers) and they were gorgeous.  Wait!  What Had I Done?!?!?!  I had posted a picture of my filthy house.  Yes.  Filthy!  Don't you see it?  In the sink.  There is a dirty plate.  I can't let anyone know that I allow dirty plates in my house.  I actually thought about removing the photo.  Instead, I did the mature thing.  I immediately wrote a comment about how I was terribly embarrassed by the dirty dishes in the sink.  Really?  I can't let anyone know that I use dishes and that they get dirty?  Then, I started to really consider what I was posting and why.

I had an unwritten rule from the time I signed up for all this online stuff.  I was not going to use it as a platform to gossip or complain.  I still think those are really good rules.  The Bible talks a lot about murmuring and complaining.  I'm still determined to not complain.  I just want to try to be a little more honest.  Not too long ago there was a 'no makeup' challenge circulating where people took selfies without makeup on.  I wonder what would happen if we did the same with our reality.  Be a little more honest about things online.  Post a photo of our less than perfect days.  Brag on God for helping us even though we really messed up.   I wonder how much it would encourage others to simply see us being real and understand that God doesn't expect perfection because God "knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust."