Real?

I was looking back through pictures of my time in China just now, and I found myself in a few pictures.. but I barely recognized me. I looked so different. And it took me a bit to figure out what it was that made me look that way, or what about these pictures looked different. And then it hit me. I looked.. real. No mask, no fear, no frustration. Just real.

"I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. 28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming." 1 John 2:26-28

As I looked through more, I felt like I could really SEE it.. the fact that God could use us the most in our weakness. The beginning of my time there, when I was wasn't trying to impress anyone (didn't know anyone to impress), but really just trying to relate without words at all, was when it seems like I could relate the best.