Come as you are...

When was the last time we heard some say, "Come as you are, no gimmicks, no primping, no changing of anything, just be you?"  Dare we almost say never for our society is fixated on changing that which is different, that which breaks social norm or disrupts the status quo...why?  Why is conformity so important?  This is a question I have long pondered, teachers would tell us to be who we were then tell us to color the apple red or express great liking of a new headband but then we were told to take it off because it didn't match everyone else.  As we grew older we saw this more prevalent with the labeling of jocks, geeks, burn outs and popular kids; each of us were labeled and felt incumbent upon us to conform to those labels.  As we age, we are not necessarily pinned via labels rather via social status and made to feel as though mingling among statuses is unacceptable.  Unacceptable is the need to make someone into something or someone they are not, this is unacceptable.  God does not seek to change who we are, He seeks to develop our person in love, deepen our faith and celebrate who we are in His image and likeness.  Instead of changing someone else, maybe we need to look within and see why we seek this change in another, maybe, just maybe that which we seek in another is what we feel lacking within ourselves.  To gain confidence in our person, to proudly walk, head held high, we need look upon our beings as God looks upon us, with love and compassion.  The same standard with which God offers His love, we must adopt and offer this same love to ourselves; unconditional love is God's standard, unconditional love our goal.  Come as you are, God says this to us on a daily basis but if we are busy attempting to be like the rest of the world, we probably do not hear His call.  "Come as you are, no change needed, no perfection expected, just come as you are and together we will be love, together we will maneuver this life and live in joy.  Come as you are, hearts filled with sorrow will be made filled with joy; chatty minds will become silent that your may enjoy the astounding beauty of this world.  Come as you are, together we will celebrate you, yes you, there is so much to celebrate; your pure heart reaching out to help others in need, your compassionate actions for the stranger; the sparkle in your eye when you laugh, all this and more we will celebrate if you just come as you are..."   This the words we would hear if we but slow down and be who we are.  Unfortunately, society sells masks that we may easily hide who we are and the come as you are means bring different masks so as to not be different among the crowd as the punishment is mockery, shunning and/or humiliation.  Rather than endure the sting of alienation, we withstand the pain of being who we are not, who others want us to be, this slowly eats away at our level of self confidence and self love.  The times we feel most like a chameleon are most detrimental to our person for these blows penetrate not only the surface of our being but they reach to the core of who we are, shaking the understanding and rattling confidence of our true existence.  We begin to question who we are for the masks have become too familiar so much so that we confuse our truths with fiction.  "Come as you are, I am here, I am waiting for you.  I know you, I love you, so please, come as you are, complete my family, come as you  are."   God calls us into His arms, calls us to embrace His offering of love, maybe it is about time w accept this offering, maybe it is about time we accept His love for ourselves and let no one tell us we are other than what we are, love.  Worthy are we of love, deserving are we of respect, not just from others but from ourselves for if we treat ourselves with unconditional love and we respect who we are, we teach others how we are to be treated.  Accepting nothing less than love and respect from others is not egotistical, it is not condescending; rather it shows our connection to the Father, it shows our acceptance of His promise of love, our action of love and our understanding of the phrase, "Come as you are".  God wants us as we are, does it really matter what others think even if it means being cast out from a group?  "Come as you are, I love you as you are, you need never change for Me, just grow in my love, grow in My truths and loneliness will never plague you, sadness will never paralyze you.  My love will warm your heart and excite your soul, come, come to Me as you are."  If we accept the Father's offer we will find love, we will embody love, we will celebrate love and we will find others who embody this same unconditional lover thus finding our home.  We all search for our home, search for a belonging; to discover this belonging we need only look within, love awaits. "Come as you are, come now, be filled with love, filled with life.  Come as you are..."