Why is it so difficult to get vulnerable or to be real with others? I think it's pretty simple. If people really knew us, that means they would know the not so pretty things about our lives as well.

Last week I shared that people are like Icebergs because we show only 10% of ourselves while we keep the other 90% below the waterline, not letting others know who we really are.

I think people are also like closets, specifically kids’ closets on clean-up day. When our Mom yells at us and tells us to clean up our rooms, we take everything and pile it up in the closet. Then, when she comes in to see how it is, it appears that everything is clean, like everything is nice and neat. But, when she opens up that closet, everything is just going to come pouring out.

A lot of the times we are like that – everything seems to be going well on the outside, it looks like everything is in place. But, if someone was to open the closet door to our life, they would see some messy stuff. Maybe some addictions we’re dealing with, maybe a pretty messy home life, maybe a really low self-esteem.

One song that I think really speaks to what we have to do with our messy situations is “Healing Begins” by Tenth Avenue North.

CLICK HERE to watch the portion of the song that was shown at Campus Life last Monday.

Here are some of the lyrics that stood out to me:

"You thought you had to keep this up? All the work that you do, so we think that you're good. And you can't believe it's not enough…"

"Afraid to let your secrets out. Everything that you hide can come crashing through the door now. But too scared to face all your fear. So you hide but you find that the shame won't disappear"

"All the walls you built up. Are just glass on the outside. So let 'em fall down. There's freedom waiting in the sound. When you let your walls fall to the ground"

"This is where the healing begins"

But, when it comes to dealing with the messy parts in our life, we have to remember three things:

1. We all have messy stuff to deal with. No one is better than anyone else. It may even seem like other people have it all together, but behind the walls we are all dealing with something.
2. You can’t deal with your mess until you’re honest about it. The song “Healing Begins” talks about letting your walls down. That means letting someone into your life. Only when you give up this idea that you need to trick everyone else into thinking you are doing great and nothing is wrong can the healing begin. Don’t just choose anyone. Make sure it’s someone that’s trustworthy. Know that if you ever want to talk with a Campus Life leader, we are always up for it.
3. You are more than your mess. That stuff doesn’t define who you are. And this last point we are going to go into more detail next week. So make sure you come back next Monday and don’t miss out. See you then!

-Eric Kuehl

Make sure you check out the pics from the night!