Even on the Down Days...

This has been one of those days.

No, not one of those 'everything has gone wrong' days.

But, one of those 'everything catches up with you' days.

Being a single parent is exhausting. I've pondered making a list of all that is on my shoulders, so to speak, just so that I have a tangible, visible understanding in front of me. Yet, I hesitate to do so because I may just overwhelm myself. Every single parent's burdens are uniquely similar and also distinctly different. It's a strange and often confusing issue to ponder.

I am one who can go and go and do and do without skipping a beat 97% of the time. But, then, it will all catch up with me. There may be no catalyst; but all the doing and going comes to a standstill like rush-hour traffic in a big city. And those days when it catches up with me, I get agitated with seeds of impatience and irritability. I want change and I want change NOW.

(Don't worry, however, because I will share with you tomorrow just how God showed off amazingly in the middle of my off-focus day).

I am one who needs encouragement AND accountability. And I am blessed with a precious few who offer just that. They listen and lift me up but also hold my feet to the fire to keep focused on what is important - keep focused on the long term goal.

I share this because Transparency has really been on my mind lately. And I've learned now that when something is gnawing at me, I'd better listen to the Spirit and be ready to do or say what He is calling me to do. God called me in 2010 to live a more transparent life and He has not wavered a bit since. I think there is much to be learned from living a life without pretense and false images. I desire to be more real in my faith and my walk. More real in who I am.

So, I am beginning a week of Transparency next week. God is challenging me to think outside my box and be a bit more real with those around me. It's time to let the guards --and masks-- down.

There is a reason. There is a purpose.

It's time to Get Real.