The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. John 10:10 (NLT)
An authentic life is not what most people live. If most of us are honest with ourselves there is a wide divide between what we do and our authentic selves. We often end up doing what other people expect and many of us get so caught up in doing what someone expects that we lose our way. Embracing your authentic self is also about understanding the way God made you and accepting what makes you different. This rich and abundant life that Jesus came to give is a life that does the will of the Father, not everyone else. Do you find that you are often doing certain things, not because you want to or love doing it, but because that’s just what you’ve always done?
Try viewing things from a different perspective. Why not let go of some things that suck up your time and get in the way of you doing what’s real and meaningful. I’m only suggesting that if you are stuck in a situation that you don’t like being stuck in, make time to think things through. With a bit of honest self-scrutiny you can fill in the missing pieces and close the gap between who you are pretending to be and who you really are. The answer to living an abundant life is in your heart. Don’t allow yourself to be so busy living and going and doing all those things that don’t add up, that you never discover the true formula that does add up to God’s will for your life. You likely already know what needs to change, but you perhaps have put off doing anything about it.
God is painting a beautiful picture on the canvas of your life. Never be ashamed of all the wonderful gifts and talents God has given you, no matter how undeveloped or unpolished they may be. Be willing to share what you have to share today (even if you only share it with God for now). Don’t allow the enemy to marginalize your strengths when you are a daughter of the living God. Finally, believe in you and embrace your authentic self. I’m not promoting self-esteem, because I don’t believe any of us should esteem ourselves as anything. I’m speaking about God-esteem, accepting who He made you by doing your best to walk in it. When you speak, speak from your heart. When you share, do so in a way that is true to your individuality. We are all so different, so unique in our own way and that’s why embracing and living your own authentic life is so important. Consider the vast array of flowers found in the most beautiful gardens in the world. There isn’t just one kind of flower or one color; there are hundreds and each one of them is uniquely different.
Stop living under the weight of all that stress. The enemy clearly wants to defeat you and keep you from enjoying life. Is it not time to experience the joy and peace that comes from being true to you? Stop hiding behind a long list of other people’s expectations (or your own expectations inside your head) and live out the life that God has chosen for you. Certainly abundant life comes through serving, but not under the weight of not being who God meant for you to be. If you’ve been pretending for a while now it may be a bit tough to discover or rediscover yourself. The Holy Spirit is able to show you all that is dormant and help you live life abundantly, by enabling you to embracing the true, authentic woman God made you to be.
Organizing the Inside 365 Days 
Your best post yet! And a lot to unpack. I’ll be working on this one for a while. Thanks.
Hey Catherine, Thanks so much… trust me I understand, having been first partaker of my own writings. After a while it goes down just a bit easier as I learn to allow the Holy Spirit to help me digest all that God has for me. Thank you so much for sharing your comment. I appreciate you being there.