Unseen

I’ve never been good at promoting myself. That’s why social media freaked me out. Friends would be upset because I was never on Facebook. I initially joined Instagram, only to keep it private, and I never understood selfies.

Maybe that’s why I had such a hard time when I first started blogging.

I guess you can say I've come a long way. I went from dreading selfies to posting a picture of me every day. I get it now. I know that to be a successful blogger, you need a strong social media presence. So I try my best. But now that I am committed, I can’t help but have this inner itch once in a while.. 

I care too much how people perceive me, and that can be an issue when you’re putting yourself out there. Since I started this, I knew I had this responsibility to be “me.” I know that may sound weird, but that’s a lot of pressure and harder than it looks. Let’s be real. With any kind of platform, where there is attention on you, your initial reaction is to perform. I don’t want to perform. For too long, I have carried a pretense, and I am over it. I just want to be me, seen and unseen. 

That’s why my blog isn't just about fashion. I am more than these pictures you see on my feed. I am a real person going through real things. The last thing I want people to perceive is that I have it all together, that I live a perfect life, accompanied by a perfect husband, while wearing perfect clothes. If that is the case, I totally missed it, and even worse, I totally misrepresented God. 

So how do I keep this from happening?

Matthew 6:6 - “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace."

What does your personal time look like? Where does your confidence come from? What do you do in the “unseen?”

I am my most real when I am in the presence of my Heavenly Father and in obedience to Him. My goal is to be that person, with ease, wherever I go. It starts with Him. 

I’m a blogger pursuing her dreams and sharing everything that comes with it. I share my struggles and my discouragements and also my wins and victories. But through it, I hope you see a merciful, loving, and relentless God that is guiding me through it all. 

So, thank you for following me on this journey! When God put blogging on my heart four years ago, nothing in me wanted to do it. But now that I am, I love it. God knows you more than you do. So, do what He says. Nothing can stop a son or daughter who is obedient — no matter what.  

 - mal 

“Real leaders need to start with their wounds and lead with their flaws because it’s the nature of an individual to look for something to worship. And you have to be careful when people look at you. A job of a leader is not having them look at you, but through you, to Jesus.”

- John Gray