Growing up in a small town I got a little extra dose of genuine friendship, or so I thought. I use to brag about all the people in my town and how they care so deeply for each other, and I think most still do. But somehow, somewhere being genuine has become lost in translation. This first year of college I have been caught grasping on to something that at first touch felt genuine, but left me with a burn of convenience as it left my side.

It wasn't genuine when the boy who complimented my pretty eyes and sweet soul complimented his next girl's pretty eyes and sweet soul. It was convenient.

It wasn't genuine when my new friend poured her heart out to me late one night, but didn't respond to my need for her shoulder to lean on. It was convenient.

It wasn't genuine when a group of girls graduated high school together but let a new chapter create a wedge between what they had spent four years creating. It was convenient.

It wasn't genuine when my heart sought after the approval of everything but my King. It was convenient.

But good news, my friends! Convenience isn't in our DNA, it's in the world's. We weren't created not to love on another, we weren't created not to serve our King. We were actually created to do the exact opposite. Christ created us to build genuine relationships with not only each other, but Him. Just like we have the choice to pick convenience, we have the choice to be genuine.

So come, let's choose to be genuine together.

Let's grab hold of the friendships that make our souls happy, but not just when they are actively building us up. Let's hold on to them when they are quiet and when they are hard. Let's love them because we want to, not because we need them to make us feel better for a little.

Let's not compliment someone for the convenience of our own life, but let's compliment someone because we genuinely and authentically appreciate that part of the person. Christ didn't create us all alike. We all have something that makes us unique, so find that someone's uniqueness and love it as hard as you can.

Let's not get lost in the world's expectations, but instead let's rise together to our Savior's hopes for us. Christ has created you, specifically, for a purpose only you can fulfill. Nurture and grow that purpose, let that become your identity. Not what the world wants you to identify with.

I challenge you to choose more laughter, more tears, more love. Choose to be genuine.