A Confession

Hi, I’m Tabitha and I’m human. I will most likely let you down at some point, and you know what? I still love you, and I love me too.

I’ve seen it happening so much lately. In so many different forms and with so many different faces.

Online and in social media comments spiraling in casts of judgement and bitterness. In a place where we seek to find inspiration and give it, sharing the highlights of our lives, and sometimes the vulnerable moments, people take a photo out of context or a phrase and jump on a bandwagon of criticism.

We’re all human, meaning we will all at some point fail. I still love you, and I love me too.

In friendships, I see hearts broken because conclusions are drawn before the opportunity is given to come to amends. We all want to be judged not on our perceived actions, but on our intentions… but my question is this, are we willing to give the same just as quickly? Are we willing to look past a moment of weakness to see the heart of the matter? Are we willing to ask how someone is doing in their own life before worrying about how they are treating us at the moment?

Guess what, we’re human. Humans make mistakes. I still love you, and I love me too.

I see strained relationships with mothers and daughters, years of unforgiveness making matters worse. I have an opinion on that now, because I’m a mother, and it’s hard. And my kids are still young, so that means they have many years of forgiveness ahead of them, and I have many years ahead of me of asking for it. I’ve lost my cool, I’ve had a temper, I’ve cried, I’ve missed the mark… and because mistakes happen (especially when there’s little sleep in the mix) that doesn’t mean emotions just disappear. Hearts are the connection between mothers and their children, and that means hearts have the opportunity to be hurt. 

Mom’s are human too, no matter how much we want to believe they are super-human. Too all of you mama’s out there who’ve made of mess of things (sometimes daily, myself included), I still love you, and I love me too.

In marriages too many have put priority on the feelings of everyone and everything else outside of the relationship and have forgotten to tend to the beautiful garden that is husband and wife. Is Chris perfect? Nope (woah, I said it!). Am I? Not even close (though I don’t tell him that, haha)! As much as we try, things happen, life happens, kids happen, bills happen… and sometimes in all of that happening, we forget that our actions and words no longer effect only ourselves, they effect this person we’ve pledged our love and our life to.

As a wife, I’ve totally bombed some days, and honey, I still love you, and I love me too.

In a business world that strives for an online presence, it’s so easy to fall prey to the comparison game, to let ourselves believe that we’re “less than” because we know the whole truth about ourselves and see only the online persona and success of someone else. In this game, no one wins. In this game, jealousy and hurt only perpetuates itself in a deadly cycle… deadly because we forget the importance of a purposeful life, and only strive to reach an immeasurable goal we’ve set against a fictitious person instead of being the best version of our own self. 

This is a game I’ve fallen into more than I care to, but you know what? I love you, the real you, and I love me too.

What I’m saying is this, behind every persona, behind every husband or wife, behind every mother and every child, behind every friend is a person. An ordinary person, full of life, and love, and heart. Behind “Tabitha” is me. A mom who likes to make healthy meals for her kids but still happens upon fast food once in awhile when I can’t deal, who sometimes forgets her friend’s birthdays and loses track of what day of the week it is too often, who cries when tired and stresses about messes. Does that mean I love or feel any less? Absolutely not, in fact the opposite… it means I’m learning to take others less for face value and see the real, amazing, lovable, vibrant, purposed person that they are. 

While we’re all on this path of living, we can get so caught up in just “living” and just getting by that we forget to see the person behind the persona It’s easy to forget to listen with more than just our ears or to speak life and live love to those around us.

You have something great inside of you. There is LIFE in you that is waiting to pour out and fill every crack and crevice in the lives of those around you that need you. You see, what you have is important, what you have to say is invaluable. I’ve heard it said that the richest place in all the world is the graveyard… so many books buried still left unwritten, so many songs that were never sung, so much love that was never shared, and maybe never received.

So while we’re on the subject of confession, tell me, what is it that you dream to do? Today, take a step forward, because your life is too valuable for buried dreams. What is it that makes your heart soar? Take time to do it, and while you’re at it, begin to let you love YOU. 

Be you bravely. And know that I love you, and I love me too.

xo

This post is part of the #fireworkpeople blog tour, a community of women who want to change the world (of which I’m proud to be a part of). If you want to be a part of it, search for #fireworkpeople on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, or join the group here. To see all other posts on the tour, click here.