Life Coaching 101: Getting Real About Our Flaws

I was frustrated last week.  My insurance business has been very slow, I had to go to the doctor, and Trixie needs a bath. Ok, so on the face of things, this is pretty mundane, but doggone it, a girl’s gotta vent somewhere, so here I go, venting to you good people. However, on the total flip side, my YouTube channel is growing like crazy and I’m pretty doggone happy about that. I guess it pretty much outweighs my frustration, and I’ll write a blog about it for Friday. Today, I’m writing about frustration, mainly because I perceive it may help others to not be frustrated! 

I don’t like to be frustrated because it ignites a desire to cuss. Cussing is something I absolutely struggle with, and something I have never truly overcome as a Christian. I try, and I do really good for a few weeks, or a few days or a few hours. Oh heck, a few minutes, if I’m being entirely honest. But let just one blithering idiot pull out in front of me in traffic...well, Katie bar the door and close the window...colorful metaphors just seem to fly unbidden from my lips. Maybe not entirely unbidden...it takes some energy to come up with a good colorful metaphor...I never like to repeat myself, because I feel each offender deserves a newly inspired stream of “God Bless America,” which is a polite way of saying whatever else is on my tongue at that given moment...

I have seriously tried to break this habit over the years, but I’m not getting any younger and the little patience I have left is worn mighty thin.  In fact, it seems almost nonexistent sometimes. My tongue is raw from biting it. I’m much better than I used to be, but still not great at restraint in this area...Why am I writing about this, you might ask. Well, I’ll tell ya...I think Christians do their best to hide their flaws from one another to the point they’re dishonest about who they really are. I’m not proud of the fact that my language slips a little every now and then, but to conceal that fact about myself really isn’t being transparent about my struggle, now is it? If we don’t talk to one another about our failings, what does that say about trust in the body of Christ? I don’t think it says anything good and I’m really quite sick of it. I’m tired to death of talking to other Christians who spit rainbows and sneeze unicorns. Life isn’t like that. Yes, we are overcomers and we lead victorious lives, but we ALL have issues. Every single one of us. I just confessed one of mine, and we all need to do the same. We can’t pray for deliverance for one another if we don’t know what we are praying for deliverance from! Look, I’m not saying anything counter to the Word of God and I’m certainly not glorifying foul language. What I’m doing, though, is making a call to arms. If you have a struggle, confess it to a brother or sister and get prayer for it. Stop trying to be Mr. or Mrs. Holier Than Thou. We are all in this wonderfully messy life together! We might as well enjoy God and enjoy one another. He is quick to forgive and we need to be as well. He’s confidential, and we need to emulate that. He’s actively present in our conversations, and we desperately need to reflect that with one another! It’s really not much more difficult than that.  We strive for perfection,, when in reality, we have left behind something much more important...our humility. 

If you have a raging desire to cuss after reading this blog, then I have miscommunicated very badly. Rather than thinking about me and those pesky four letter words, think about how you can be a better brother or sister to someone in need today. How can we listen when someone is desperate? How can we keep our mouths shut when people are right up in our grill espousing things we hate? How can we show Jesus’s love to people who have never heard His Name? These are questions worth pondering. The result? More connection. More love. More empathy. More joy. More peace. More righteousness. And you know what? Less judgment.  

This would be a good time quote that lady on the Ellen DeGeneres Show who said, “I love Jesus, but I cuss a little.” What’s your struggle? Think about it and pray about it. I promise God will show you what it is if you’re mind is blank. He has a way of getting our attention. And He has a way of sweeping aside our smug arrogance in thinking we are doing God a favor by going to church and trying not to cuss, as Frances Chan so succinctly put it in his book “Crazy Love.” God doesn’t want our self righteous posturing. He wants our hearts. He wants our messes so he can transform us. We are all works in progress. Be kind. Be joyful. Live life abundantly. And if we cuss a little on the journey, it’s just one more reason we need Jesus. Peace out.