Authenticity

I have been learning a lot of things lately:
1. You always have more strength than you think you have
2. There is extreme power in your thoughts...events don't cause emotions...your thoughts do
3. The very things you don't want to happen are sometimes the things that you need
AND:
4. Suffering is the most authentic thing I know of.

Authenticity. The most authentic thing I have ever come across is the cross. It's funny, because I just came to this conclusion. you see crucifixes around all the time, but how often do you actually sit there and look at it? I mean....THAT is REAL. The only thing that makes sense to me right now is the cross. I have had suffering and pain thrown in my face lately...and not only my own, but others. It is authentic...because it's messy...it's not tied up in a bow....it doesn't try to be anything that it's not. So any time I'm struggling, I try to think about the crucifixion and remember that Jesus laid it all out...he suffered more than I ever will...yet he made it. He rose again...He's alive. And so I am I...and will one day be even more alive.