The Counterfeit Me's

This week's assignment was to chart whena nd how often you were anything other than the best verison of yourself by using the following "Me's":

The Me I Pretend To Be:  "I try to convince people I'm important while secretly fearing I am not"

The Me I Think I Should Be: "I have a need to try to be someone I'm not, often motivated by comparison"

The Me Others Want Me To Be: "I don't feel free to be myself. I follow others' agendas"

The Me I'm Afraid God Wants: "I lack trust in God's love and plan; I equate spiritual maturity with trying hard to follow the Bible's rules"

The Me That Fails To Be: "I'm missing mental and emotional vitality; my soul is weary"

On Sunday I asked the class which "Me" they were most like. There were quite a few that answered, "Can I be all of them?" I loved that answer! Of course we can be all of the "Me's". As humans we are very complex and so it is incredibly hard to pin down just one general definition of ourselves. So this week we were supposed to keep track of which "Me" we were and when; What were the situations that caused us to be that "Me"? Here's what I found:

Most days I found myself acting as the me that isn't. "The me other's want" or "the me I pretend to be". It felt like I was faking all week. At work I was pushing farther than I should've; doing things above and beyoind my scope of capabilities, or with friends, finding myself doing things I did not have time or energy to do because I didn't want to let them down. And at least once a day I was "The Me that Fails to be".

One thing this excercise has taught me is that my emotions tend to control me. When I'm tired (which is more often than not) I run away. I look for an escape from reality, usually though TV or girl's night out instead of studying or working on personal tasks. When I'm stressed or upset I avoid big things that need to be done because my mind tells me they're too much for me to handle right now. So I become "The Me that Fails to be". I long for more in life and yet I run away, lacking vitality and drive. But then I remember that Spiritual Maturity is not measured the same for every person. Henri Nouwen wrote "Spiritual greatness has nothing to do with being greater than others. It has everything to do with being as great as each of us can be." And the great thing about that is God is strongly involved and interested in helping us reach our INDIVIDUAL greatness. We are not alone in the journey. We can embrace it knowing He's leading us.
Confidence = enthusiasm = change!!!
God wants us to be nothing but ourselves, but not just ourselves, He wants us to be the BEST version of ourselves. The me we're meant to be! The me He had in mind when He created us.

So what do YOU find out about yourselves this week?