Too Transparent?

Sometimes I wonder if I'm too transparent in my writing. As my husband, John, has told me before, "We don't have skeletons in our closet . . . because you put them on the front lawn for everyone to see!"

I was thinking about this the other day in Sunday School class. We were talking about sins and struggles, and I was going to confess a few of my own, but class ended before I had the chance. (Oh Rats!)

Oh, well. I thought. They can read about them in my books.

It's not as if I LIKE sharing all the times when I've really screwed up. I don't. I would like to be perfect, but since I'm not . . . then the least I can do is share how God gets me out of the numerous messes I get myself in. Because, through that, my hope is that others will be able to see Jesus in me.

All these thoughts were swirling around my head as I came across a quote I underlined in a book I'm reading, "The Beloved Disciple" by Beth Moore. Here is what Beth said:

"As [the disciples] watched this man named Jesus, this carpenter's son, and they fellowshipped with Him then witnessed His work, what do you think they saw? Consistency? Versatility? Unwavering passion? Or a lamb as often as a lion? The center of all attention? Or a teacher that became a student of all those around Him? We know they saw absolute authenticity, but how do you imagine they saw it portrayed?

"Don't think for a minute that thinking about such matters is a waste of time. The more we grasp the flesh-and-blood reality of these encounters and try to imagine the intimate details the disciples witnessed in Christ the better! What we're studying isn't religious fiction or simple Christian tradition. Christ walked into people's lives and transformed them." p. 25 (emphasis mine)

So Beth, thank you, for doing a good job summing up how I feel about my writing and my transparency. Christ walked into MY life and transformed it. To show the transformation, I often have to share the "befores" to point people to the changes Christ made. (Thank you, Lord, for all your "afters".)

The flesh-and-blood reality that Jesus uses today is His will, ways, and words lived out in me. And they are encounters I write about, both point-blank in non-fiction or wrapped within a fictional story. (Yes, there is more of ME in those novels than you might think!)

The encounters I share are ones I pray will bring authenticity and transformation in the lives of others as well. Like the glass in a frame, my desire is that when others look at the picture of my life, they will see Jesus through me.