Ahhhh Pinterest. If you looked at my list of Pinterest boards, you'd see boards for a new apartment, cute crafts, and all the fancy clothes I wish were in my closest and if you scroll a little further, you'll see boards especially for bible verses/encouragement, mission work, and church camps. If you go through my Facebook, you'll see close to the same. You'll see a picture with a goofy filter or a super silly video. You'll see pictures posted of me with friends where everything seems all sunshine and rainbows. You'll see updates with Christian lyrics or once again, a Pinterest quote implying that no matter what I'm feeling or facing, I'm believing that God is good. You can scroll through my Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, etc and see all of these things that make it seem like I have it all together, but here's a confession, I don't and neither does anyone else on your timeline.

Think about it. How easy it to look at your social media timelines and draw a conclusion that everything is perfect in the lives of the posters? You see a young mom posting pictures with her children smiling, laughing and playing at the park, but you don't see the weariness from sleepless and lonely nights while her husband works back to back shifts in order to put food on the table. You see the Crossfit or fitness addict posting all of their workout photos and videos, but don't see the eating disorder or body image issues they are recovering from. You see a young college student having the time of his or her life, but you don't seem the daily battles of temptation and struggles that they fight so hard to win. You the picture perfect lives of the individuals on your computer screens but never truly see the person. Sometimes seeing these kinds of images and statuses results in a comparison game. We look at how our friends and loved ones seem to have it all together and beat ourselves up over the fact that we still can't seem to keep our head on straight, often resulting in self pity, insecurities, bitterness and just plain sadness. But what if it were different? What if we actually showed our hearts? What if we actually showed that behind the perfect Pinterest page, there's a beating human heart? A heart that feels every emotion no matter how raw, ugly, or beautiful that emotion may be? Would it make a difference?

Can you imagine what our social media timelines would look like and how our hearts would feel if we were simply REAL with each other and what was going on in our lives?!?

Let's face it, we all know deep down that the happy mother at the park with her children, the exercising Crossfit addict, and the young college student really don't have it all together. So let's stop pretending and let's stop comparing! I know it's hard. I know it's hard to scroll through your Facebook page and see someone that seems to have it all together and not get down on yourself. I know it's hard to get on Instagram and not compare yourself to the first person that you think is prettier than you are. I know it's hard when you feel like everyone around you has the life that you envy. But I'm here to remind you that isn't the case. I promise you that behind every picture perfect post that you see is a person who more than likely feels exactly like you are the very moment that you are scrolling through your timeline. They're thinking "why can't I look like that" or "why can't my relationship be like that" or all of the millions of questions that run through your mind when you think a person has it all together. Please know that there's always more than what meets the eye. Remember that during every scroll, you're seeing a soul. A soul that hurts they way you do experiences happiness the way that you do, and simply feels emotions just the way that you do. You see a perfect life on social media but you never see the struggles inside their homes and hearts. You never see the things they are going through and the way they are simply longing for peace. You never really see that if they had a choice, your life would be the one they choose.

I challenge you not to compare yourselves to others and I challenge you to be real. I'm not meaning use your status box like it's a therapy session, but if you're not feeling like your day is great, don't feel the pressure to post about simply because others are! If you're feeling like you need some encouragement because you're feeling down, ask for it! Sometimes being real with each other on our timelines can help each other more than you may ever know. People are struggling all over and if we were real and honest in that, maybe, just maybe, we'd be able to help each other out a little more. Finally, if you think someone has it all together based on their timeline, take a look at yours and I can assure you, you'll be reminded that they probably don't.

Signed,

An Odyssey writer who literally threw this together at the last minute because despite what it may seem like, I really don't have it all together.