This will be a brief one but I hope it brings peace to your heart as we approach the end of the year.

A few weeks ago, I was having a conversation with my friend, Ulunna (not her real name) and I shared one of my 2023 low moments with her. When I was done with my story, she said,

“You know, people think you have a perfect life but there is a lot that they don’t know.”

I smiled and shared some more with her. Ulunna had no idea that these were some of my experiences this year.

As I reflected on that conversation later that night, I realized how we can get easily carried away by the external, and we are not aware that people are fighting battles that they don’t talk about.

No one has a perfect life. We all have things going on. We are dealing with all kinds of challenges and doing our best to figure things out. Sometimes, we don’t even know what we are doing but we still keep doing it anyway. The only difference is that some of us have mastered the art of keeping our head up even when the storm is raging and the waters are above our “shoulder level”.

We do this because we know Who we have believed in and we have confidence in His rescue strategies. We know He won’t let us drown.

So, everyday we take a shower, put on clean clothes, wear a charming smile and walk into the room like the world is under our feet.

We are careful not to share our stories with just anyone. We keep it that way because we understand that our battles cannot be fought with physical weapons and so, we share our worries with people who understand the ‘ministry of burden-bearers’; you know, those ones who will consistently pray and check in and pray and check in and pray some more and check in and repeat.

So, the next time you see us looking perfect, like nothing is missing or broken, just know that we are carrying stuff and it may be heavier than yours.

So breathe.

No one has a perfect life and your burden is not new.

Hear what the Bible says,

“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

So, breathe again.

Our lives may not perfect but they can be beautiful.