Last week was a mixed of emotions….. One dear friend from church who had been battling cancer, lived a great life, and was an inspiration to many went home to be with her Savior.  Another friend and business acquaintance who we hadn’t seen for several months took his own life which came as a complete surprise to our family.   We received news about a couple other friends going through some tough times as well.  The girls went back to school, work was busy, and many other activities filled the week.

As I was enjoying some quiet time today I decided to look through my journal of ideas, specifically the list of songs that caught my attention. When I came upon “Stained Glass Masquerade” by Casting Crowns I paused…..and thought about all the events throughout the week.  How many of us live in some form of masquerade, we each have our own weaknesses yet we think it is not acceptable to discuss those fears and failures with others.  When we look around us at our friends or acquaintances in church and in other areas of our lives everyone else seems to have their lives perfectly put together.  How often do we chose to not reach out to someone because we are afraid of what they will think of us or how they will react when we can see that they are struggling?

Take a moment today to search your heart, confess your weaknesses to God and live the life that is meant for you.  Find a prayer partner, or two, that you can be open and honest with and pray earnestly for each other.  No one person can fill a void in your heart or life except Christ, however, having friends praying alongside you increases your chance of success and brings a lot of encouragement along the hills and valleys in each others journeys.