On being real…

Yesterday a friend and I were talking about authenticity in writing. Specifically, we were agreeing that it’s hard to balance honesty, transparency, relevancy and responsibility each time we sit down to write. As a Christian, I want to write things that are generally encouraging. I feel a certain sense of obligation to be careful, gentle, and appropriate. And, as the non-confrontational type, of course, I don’t want to offend anyone. I’ll leave that to those who are braver or who have a specific agenda to tackle.

As a mom, I want to be careful to protect my children. After all, they didn’t sign up to be the subject of an ongoing online story. As a wife, I want to respect my husband and our marriage, making sure my stories don’t cut him down or dishonor him in any way.

And, yet, as a writer, I want to be genuine and interesting and free to just “talk” to you as if we were sitting in a coffee shop having lattes, or mochas, or frozen frappucinos… or ice water, if that’s more your style. Some days I want to be sarcastic and fun. Other days I want to be reflective and thoughtful. But, always, I want to be real.

I could put only the cutest pictures and stories of my children on here. I could share only the highs of our week or only my victories in parenting {that, though, would be a very short blog}. I could end every post with a Bible verse and make you think I’m super-spiritual. I could write only when I feel completely confident about the quality and significance of a post. But, none of that would be very authentic. That might be the version of myself I’d like to present, but that would be far from sincere. And, I think you’d notice.

The challenge for me {and every blogger without a specific focus, I suppose} is knowing when to treat a blog like it’s a diary… or a family scrapbook… or a devotional… or a term paper. And, so, I think what happens is that I approach it like it’s all of the above. It’s completely eclectic. One never knows what to expect here. Basically, my blog has a personality disorder.

But, I’m coming to terms with that. Mainly because I think that we as women are generally a little bit that way… somewhat all over the place. A little low one day, and high as a kite the next. Moody and melodramatic when we want to be… sentimental and supportive when we need to be… footloose and fancy free when we can be. Maybe the “all over the place” part is the very thing that makes it authentic.

So, I figure that as long as I’m not using this blog to make an income, or promote a specific cause, or address a certain subject, then it can be as random as the thoughts of its author. I only hope it occasionally entertains or encourages.

And, since I haven’t said it in awhile. Thank you so much for reading. Thank you for your comments and your emails and your encouragement. I love knowing how our stories intersect. You are what makes this fun. And, you are what makes it worth the effort… and the risk… to be real.