do you value integrity?

(disclaimer. this post was inspired by frustration. lol)

i guess i can’t blame people for sacrificing integrity for the sake of community. 

God would say community is more important.

but for some reason, i can’t excuse my desire to be real all the time. consistently.

to mean what i say all the time, not just when it’s convenient for a certain audience.

my community may be smaller, i may be less attractive for certain types, 

but that seems to me to be a good thing. even if it doesn’t ‘feel’ like it all the time.

but who really suffers? i guess it just depends on where your importance lies.

you shake and jive for the people that surround you at the moment, 

just to talk badly about them when you’re with another.

honestly, isn’t it exhausting?

idk, i guess i can’t judge. 

we all handle the burdens of life differently. 

but it seems that a lack of foundation,

is only a breeding ground for confusion

and harvest doubt in self and God.

ultimately, a lack of faith. 

i’ve had my fair share of ups and downs

and hard lessons due to impatience, desperation and stupidity.

but ultimately, i’m always better than i was before.

in a better position than i was in before.

in a place where God won’t let my mistakes harm me, but uses them to teach me.

my dedication to truth has paid me well. 

i hope whatever you’re doing is working for you.

Standing Apart

When I was young I used to write about romance. Infatuations destined to fail that weren’t deserving of my attention or my efforts. But yet they remained the subject of my heart. 

Now I choose to write in a much more abstract way. Digging down to the root of the moment the desires that push us, the conflicts that keep us apart and why they are so. The tendencies of human nature. 

I believe we may attract similar brokenness we ourselves feel when choosing our companions, friends and lovers. And although it is easy to recognize and criticize in others, do we consider that maybe their brokenness is a reflection of ourselves?

If that’s the case, then our pride in what we see as righteousness is false and needs to be dismissed. The superiority we gain only exists to deceive and separate us from our community. How then do we address the obvious ungodliness that exists amongst us and in us?

Of course just recently, I wrote a note on a bible verse I highlighted during bible study. 

“And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.” II Thessalonians 3:14-15

A guide to how we should approach others in our community. Always making the value of community a priority. 💕

Then I also realized, that Christ never denied who He was. Although humility was always His character, He stood firm in His identity, being that He was the Son of the Almighty, to whom all of earth and heaven was given. Though He came to serve, He was the key to our existence, our prosperity, our wisdom.

Therefore, we can recognize our imperfections without denying our identity. We can acknowledge someone else's brokenness, and understand that it is a reflection of our own, while also understanding that it does not define or bind us.

That is the difference between them and we. For they may choose to deny their weaknesses, seeing no need for prayer and change. And we, we work diligently to see Christ as our reflection. To not let insecurity drive us to spite and fear drive us to deceit. In that truth we have strength and can continue to hold our head high. And although the world may regard us as weak, it is only for a moment.

so, this happened.

things happen that question, 

how we truly feel about a person.

someone who receives our devotion

& adoration, suddenly makes,

a truly human mistake, to you.

what do you do?!

if it were a stranger, it'd be easy. 

'hater. idgaf'

but this is your kin,

someone you've built your soul

up with, connected to your

eternal spirit. this is the 

farthest thing from a stranger,

this is a known, acknowledged,

piece of you. lol. what do you do.

WWJD.

forgiveness can be the most

bizarre thing. 

but I've known God in me,

for a long time now. 

& with my fragility, 

have solely depended on Him,

for my entire survival.

so when confronted with,

judgement & disregard,

partly out of ignorance,

partly out of arrogance,

my initial reaction was

shock, disappointment,

a little lostness, a bit broken.

out of all the things to expect,

a lack of doubt in my ability,

to live & navigate through my life,

from you?!

all those moments of 

transparency,

so that you can attempt 

to use them against me?!

talk about hating vulnerability.

but then Jesus reminds me,

how much we all are,

subject to human error.

stuck in our own thoughts,

thinking we're reading in between 

lines, but we're really just filling

in gaps, because we want to

think, we know it all.

when really,

you don't know shxt.

your own life could attest 

to that. no shade. 

& Jesus showed me, why

this may have been 

necessary. not only to show me

pieces of myself, where I've violated, 

as you have.

but for me to practice the 

beauty of forgiveness,

on an entirely new level.

therefor, i thank you for

these words, that you've

given me the opportunity 

to write. i actually thank you

for a lot more than that. you 

know. this only strengthens.

me, you, 🙈🙊🙉, us. 

friend vs. foe

because look,
isn't it one thing to understand & accept severe human flaws from individuals,
and another to invite them into your personal life.

why associate with people you can't trust.
you can't trust them to not speak about you maliciously,
in their times of weakness.
you can't trust them to be loyal, when faced with snakes.
you can't trust them to have your best interest at heart,
when they're unhappy with their own circumstances.
you can't even trust them to be honest about their shortcomings as a friend,
because that would be admitting fault, & God forbid they admit to vulnerabilities.
too much pride, but pride of what?
the lack of a real individual you managed to become.

i hate the idea that i'm just being bitter,
which is why i'll always attempt to assess myself.
but i can't find a neutral perspective or place for people that consistently can't be trusted.
what value are you to me?

i even find disgust in myself,
which fuels my desire for change.

i want my friends to feel as if they can rely on me.
if they feel concern by a comment or action,
that they feel comfortable enough to tell me,
before assuming, & then acting on their assumption.
i want them to believe they can confide in me,
& worry not that i would use their secrets to my own advantage,
for something as small as 'making conversation'
when really, it's creating gossip.
i would like for them to think that if i knew information concerning them,
their well-being, their relationships, etc ...
that i would tell them.
i want them to know they are a priority,
and that i would sacrifice for them.
that i value their presence,
& all the joy it adds to my life.

i mean, am i trippin?
is that too much to ask?
are my expectations too high?
because yes, i've been told that before. ;) lol. smh.

and then honestly, even if they are....
I DON'T CARE !!
i rather have one real friend,
then hella mis-guided, cowardly, integrity-lacking, delusional people around me,
who serve no purpose.
i don't need people strictly for 'social-settings'
people there only to have fun with...
i have fun by myself.
& i'll sacrifice the occasional 'turn-up'
until i'm able to surround myself with more
responsible human beings.

people who take responsibility for their life,
themselves, their words, and their actions.
people who stand by their character and integrity.
or at least make an attempt to.