"It's like we get better at playing a role, but we don't really get BETTER." ~ Simon Flake

Will the real "me" please stand up? In spite of the fear of rejection or ridicule, can I be bold enough to just be ME...no gimmicks, no stunts, no statements that assert my originality. Can I just be ME without a mask of feigned happiness or joy. Can I be ME without the expectation of sweetness?

Here's the thing: I really am happy and full of joy. I really am a sweet person. But if I have a difficult day, it's just that. I shouldn't make myself play a role just to fit within someone else's preconceived notions about me.

The only standard I'm trying to fit into is the standard of Christ. Please don't misread this: I'm not trying to fit into a standard of denomination or one particular church body. I just want to be like Christ. PERIOD.

Galatians 6:15 (the Message Version) says, "Because of [the] Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate."

This scripture effectively removed from my face the masks that were stifling me; the masks I was lost in because I couldn't remember which "me" I was supposed to be within the various settings and circumstances I found myself in. I had to be a certain "me" with mama and family, another "me" at work, and yet another "me" with my husband and sons. The beat goes on, but I'm marching to the one of the only Drummer Who knows me better than I know myself.

I am no longer lost in a masquerade, accepting Oscar after Oscar for perfecting the roles and labels I was given since the day of my birth. All that has now been removed, and I'm free to just be...

ME.