Authentic Being

I hear when you are in your 30s it's a time of coming into yourself and being who you really are without regard to what other people think of you.  Of course, this is in comparison to your 20's where you are figuring out what you want to be when you grow up and being influenced by your peers, culture, and the such.  Perhaps I'm a slow learner, but reaching this point has come to me later in my 30's.  I spent many years being concerned about what I thought other people wanted or expected me to be.  I am grateful to be in a better season in my life where I am working on authenticity within my life and in the way that I live it.  They say that your 40's only gets better.  We'll see about that, but for now I'm simply working on "being".

Authentic living to me is living a life I was intended to live;  one that is true to who I was created to be.  That purpose is still a journey but one that is revealing some interesting and beautiful aspects of who I am.  How exciting it is to have this quiet confidence that holds me up every morning as I face the revealing day.  Life is full of hard stuff and if I didn't have my faith I would be one lost cookie.  God is my stronghold. I believe in living a faith driven, prayerful life to have balance and focus or at least try. 
Authenticity is not only living life with intention and purpose as my true self but it is also simply the act of being without distraction.  A difficult challenge for me, but that means letting the past go, living in the moment, and being full of excitement and hope for all that God is planning for me in the future.  I reflect upon Isaiah 43:18-19, 21.