John 2:2-5 – Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They don’t have any wine.”

Jesus replied, “Woman, what does that have to do with me? My time hasn’t come yet.”

His mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Gratitude Day 752

Queen Elizabeth and England had quite the weekend with the Queen’s 70^th Platinum Jubilee Celebration. While she was supposed to be the star of the show, it appears that more than once, her great-grandson Prince Louis stole the show.

Or at least from the perspective of many Americans. Why? Because Prince Louis reminded us that even when a prince is 4-years-old, he is still just 4-years-old. And 4-year-olds often do what toddlers this age simply do.

They get bored. Overreact. Underreact. And everything in-between.

Wouldn’t we have loved to be privy to some of those private conversations his ever-gracious Mummy had with him that we witnessed but were never able to hear?

In a beautifully written thank you the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge shared on Monday, his parents acknowledged that yes, at times, their youngest prince kept it real when they said, “We all had an incredible time, especially Louis …” W&C.

Often, kids have a way of reminding us that life is real. And we are just best to keep it that way.

A couple weeks ago, I was taking our youngest grandson to baseball. At the time, his little 10-year-old team was undefeated. He shared with me that soon, he thought they would get beat because “some of the kids on my team are getting too cocky.”

“Oh, really?” I said. Then, I asked him if he was one of those cocky ones.

“Oh, no,” he said. “I don’t get cocky until after the game.”

Let’s just keep things real, our little baseball player.

Try as we might to make sure we look good, act right and appear to have our lives put together, let’s be honest. Most of us might have a .300 batting average on a good week. Or at least this is how I often feel. If I kept it real, my look good/act right/have my life put together batting average is dismal at best.

That’s keeping it very real.

Personally, I find one of Jesus’ most admirable traits was his ability to keep it real. I’m not sure that how he dressed mattered to him. He certainly broke many social norms in how he act and kept it way too real for most people around him. Did he have his life put together? Depends on how you define “put together.”

Jesus kept life very real. Every. Single. Day.

Like the time he and his disciple friends were at a wedding. It just so happened that his mother was there as well. She noticed that the hosts were running out of wine. Not wanting the hosts to be embarrassed, she knew exactly who could take care of the wine situation. So, he goes and enlists her Son, the only person who present who could miraculously make more wine appear with the blink of an eye. But when she suggests that he do so, his response to him, is not what we would expect a respectable and upstanding son to say. He could have simply told her “Yes” or “No.” Instead, he kept it real and said, “Is this really my problem?”

And yet, he goes and makes a bunch of really high-quality wine anyways.

Here’s Jesus, keeping it real.

Or there is the time when Jesus’ mother and some of his siblings just show up where he is at. His disciples tell Jesus that his family is there and would like to see him. How do we make sense of his reply, when basically, Jesus says his relatives have nothing to do with blood but whether or not someone follows his teachings?

Once again, we find Jesus thumbing his nose at his Mom and keeping life very real.

So, what can we learn from Prince Louis, other honest little people and Jesus?

Keep life real. Give ourselves permission to make mistakes and let others see them. Not expect ourselves to be perfect … all the time. Let our guard down and respectfully allow ourselves to admit we have warts, just like everyone else. And keep life real.

No, we do not have to be self-deprecating all the time. Yes, we must keep humble and not get too cocky. Sometimes, we will stumble and say something that we later wished we had not said aloud. The voice inside our heads does need to be filtered at times.

Yet, there are times when we simply must learn to laugh at ourselves and with others. Take life less seriously. Remember that life is real, and we only get one trip in doing the best that we can. Every. Single. Day.

For years, Queen Elizabeth has carried the same purse with her, every time she goes out in public. There has been much speculation about what she carries inside that purse. All of England and the rest of the world got a little glimpse into what she might have inside that purse on a regular basis. While having tea with Paddington Bear, the Queen revealed that she carries a marmalade sandwich in her purse.

Here’s Queen Elizabeth simply keeping life real. What a great example for the rest of us. And if his most recent public displays are any indication, she has a great-grandson who is more than up for the job as well.

For a simple reminder that keeping life real is really OK, I am grateful.

Blessings –

Dianne

Dear God – Trying to keep our lives put together IS a fulltime job. And yes, we are encouraged to do all the good we can in this world. Yet, a little humbleness, a little dose of reality, a little reminder to keep life real is desperately needed by so many of us as well. Jesus – thanks for keeping life real and giving us permission to do so as well. Amen.

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