Awkward Family Photo or Your Real Self?

It’s funny how we go through phases in our lives, particularly in the way we look and how we dress. You’ve all see the “Awkward Family Photos.” As I am writing this I am looking at some of them now. This could just become a photoblog of hilarious hairstyles, clothing, accessories, not to mention facial expressions.

As a child, my mom parted my hair on the side. We were given nice haircuts and clothes, but we weren’t fancy by any means. Our style was what was available at Sears and J.C. Penny, usually Toughskins Jeans and T’s. Google them and you will see that you can still buy them.

In Jr. Hi. it was time to spread my wings and my hairstyle by parting it in the middle. High School and College meant business in the front and party in the back. Then I varied between the long and short of it. As I scrolled through my iCloud I decided to spare you the visuals.

You can relate, I’m sure. You can also think of the different clothing styles too numerous to name. Gauchos, ladies? Levi 501 jeans, IZOD shirts with the collar flipped up, Topsiders, and I could go on and on. Look at all of my changes in High School and into College. That is a knitted tie, by the way.

All that to say that sometimes our look and style is a true representation of who we are. At other times it is a representation of who we want to be. Still other times it is a representation of who we think others want us to be. I think I was my most natural self in 7th grade; Jr. High School. My look was Cowboy, maybe a little urban, but Cowboy nonetheless. I got a pair of boots and a nice hat. I had some western-style shirts. While I never had a horse or a cow, the Western Cowboy look suited me just

fine. At that point, I was also completely comfortable in my skin. It was the last time I was truly completely comfortable in my skin.

Well, here we are in 2021 and I have become comfortable in my skin again, and guess what…Cowboy is it with me. I’m reading western novels, watching western movies, and wearing western clothes. I didn’t really mean for this to happen. It just kind of happened naturally as I shed the things that made me uncomfortable and became myself again after all those years, about 40 in fact.

What am I saying to you today? Get rid of what is keeping you from your real, true self. Get back to that person you were before the world got a hold of you and stole your innocence. It’s not about what others think of you. It’s about what you think of yourself. Ultimately, it’s what God thinks about you. Look at yourself as He looks at you. When you can be the real you, we see what He sees.

Thanks for reading,