I was looking at Instagram and saw all the gorgeous photos.  You know, the sunsets, happy families, perfect food or the perfect living room.  Then I made applesauce, and took this picture:

Another perfect photo of something made by hand with love.

Even the label says it: Made with love by Kathleen Thompson.

Sure, that’s true.  I did make the applesauce with love.  It tastes great.  The jars sealed.  The labels are cute.

But that’s not all that’s true.  Here’s what people don’t show you on Instagram.

I burned my first batch.  Even though only the bottom burned, the smell permeated through the entire batch.  It tastes like smoked applesauce.  Not a flavor I’d purposely create (even though a friend sent me a recipe for potato pancakes with smoked applesauce).

You can't smell it, but check out how brown it is.

They don’t show you the elbow grease it takes to get the charred black from the pot.

You don’t see how much of a mess it all makes.

How much waste there is

At least I can compost this.

How long it takes to clean up.

And you feel like your life can’t possibly compare with theirs.  Because you don’t see the mess.  You only see the finished product.

How many times did we do a technology release and ended up with 1-2 months of clean-up?  How many times have I gotten over being sick and the cough lingered for days or weeks after?  How often have I thought I was emotionally healed and found myself triggered by something similar?

More times than I can count.  More times than I’d like.

But that’s how life is.  Things don’t always have a clean ending.  They aren’t always as neat as they look on social media.

I haven’t just burned the applesauce.  I’ve burned myself by not paying attention to the heat.

I haven’t just had a mess in the kitchen to clean up.  I’ve made messes with relationships and project.

I haven’t just had lots of waste in the form of apple skins and cores.  I’ve wasted time.  Money.  Energy.  Attention.

And how often do I try to look perfect to the outside world, when my inner world looks like my kitchen did while making applesauce?

That’s why I’m showing and telling you the story behind my applesauce picture.  That’s real life.  The backstage view.  Where the only lights are working lights.  And no one gets applause.

My life is just as mixed up as anyone’s.  Any answers I have I’ve learned through my mistakes and messes.  I’m thankful for the grace that God and others extend to me.

And so I extend that grace to you too.  It’s okay that you burn something, create a mess, and take a long time to clean it up.  It’s part of the human condition.  Getting the truth out in the open – that we aren’t perfect and neither is our life – sets us free.  Free from living up to unrealistic expectations.  Free to be fully human.

If you’d like to share a mess, a complicated situation, or something that simply isn’t perfect, feel free to add a comment.  We’ll celebrate our humanity together.