Five Minute Friday: Real

Five Minute Friday: Real

It’s Friday again. Woo hoo! Today I join The Gypsy Mama to write for five minutes on her weekly prompt. No editing or rewriting allowed. Click on the link to her site if you want to try it, too. The prompt this week is “Real”.


GO


Real life is something you don’t often see much of in the world of the internet. Bloggers can pretty much create the life they want you to see. The good ones try to keep it real. But today I’m grateful that I have a real life, too. The times I have been most real are when I open up and become vulnerable. When I let others into this real life of mine which is not neat and tidy and not always clean and good. No. It’s messy and dirty and ugly at times. There have been three people groups that learned the real me. No pretty facade.


My friends in Colorado. They were the first to really see who I was. I was 21 and I didn’t know it was okay to not be perfect. But I learned in those four months to let go of all my masks. 


My Bible Study group that started shortly after we were married and pretty much ended after we had kids (although our friendships didn’t). They got to hold my hand while Todd and I walked through some rocky times and found the strength to stand again. (Lucky them!) 


And now, friends at church, who were just on the sidelines for years, have come into my life fully. They are the ones I call crying when I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the day. They are the ones who see the ugly me. The real me. Not the smile I put on for the rest of the world. John Eldredge said, regarding community, “it’s hard, it’s messy, it is never ever exactly what you want.” And that is so true. 


But it is one thing: it is real.  


STOP


That was SO much longer than five minutes, but once I said there were three people groups, I couldn’t stop without hitting each of them! Well, there it is. No facade of rewriting or deciding this post isn’t good enough to make the cut. You get the real me today too. Now, don’t you feel special?


11 Comments
  • Anonymous
    Posted at 08:23h, 03 February Reply

    Love it Alison..This is actually one of the things I love about you..how very REAL you are. Love ya
    Amy

  • Alison
    Posted at 08:25h, 03 February Reply

    Thank you, Amy! And as you know, you're one of the ones I've called crying! 🙂

  • Tara
    Posted at 09:06h, 03 February Reply

    i love these words about community, and about friendship. It is hard, messy, and not exactly what you want…but the beauty in that, man. It's amazing.

  • Jessica
    Posted at 12:04h, 03 February Reply

    Yes! Thanks for sharing! There are few groups of people that I've gotten real with it and honestly, I miss having that kind of group right now. Hopefully, I will find it soon. Anyway, great post! I hope your writing is going well!

  • Alison
    Posted at 15:56h, 03 February Reply

    Not my words, but thanks for stopping by, Tara! Thanks for the comment.

  • Alison
    Posted at 15:58h, 03 February Reply

    I hope you find it soon, too, Jessica. Thanks so much for reading and commenting. Always good to hear from you. Writing is going well. I have a potential deal in the works, but the process is slow. Exciting, though! Thanks for the good wishes!

  • Angelina
    Posted at 22:06h, 03 February Reply

    So much truth. It's hard to be vulnerable and I constantly struggle with it in my writing! Your 5 min friday posts are some of my favs!

  • Alison
    Posted at 00:30h, 04 February Reply

    Thanks Angelina! Glad the truth shines through even in the awkwardness of my first drafts. 🙂

  • Jessica
    Posted at 14:02h, 15 February Reply

    I just remembered to check back to see if you commented too. That's awesome! I can't wait to hear all about the deal! 🙂 And, the good news on my end is that I've joined a writing group and I may have found my group of real people. Always a good thing to have!

  • Alison
    Posted at 16:18h, 15 February Reply

    Yay for real people! I wish I could have a commenting system that emails the commenter when I reply. I've tried to install disqus, but to no avail. Wish you didn't have to be a techie to figure this stuff out!

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