Fame is an illusion. The idea that a famous persons' story is better and more interesting than the person we pass by in the grocery store is a falsehood. A falsehood we created.
We now exist in a time when everyone is trying really hard to pretend. Authenticity and realness are seen as a weakness. We hide our stories and make up fiction in hopes that the world will accept us.
This is what social media does to many of us. We look and see everyone's life. We see their story play out. And it looks perfect. Everything in their story seems to be aligned and working in their favor. All the while we look at our own lives and ask ourselves what is wrong with us? Why isn't our story like their story?
Quite possibly it is because that other person is writing a fiction novel about their life. They are hiding the rawness of their story. They are pretending.
For most Christian churches here are how things play out. You go to church. The church tells you you are a sinner and for you to confess your sins. Then once you do that then you will be a vital member of the community.
In our curiosity we ask what if the person God created you to be is already there and should be celebrated not changed. Maybe what is missing from our story is your story... the real one.
At the center of quest together is to discover the story that God tells about each of us. We are uniquely different and that is God's design. And the beauty of our communion is how we are better for it when we are our most authentic, unique self.