Good morning, friends! Happy Monday!! Anyone else counting down the days before Spring Break? I can’t believe how fast this school year has gone. Once Spring Break is over, I feel like the countdown to summer begins. And we LOVE summer around here.
This morning I wanted to share a little bit of my heart. I shared this quote on my Instagram stories last week and so many of you commented on it.
It’s so easy to get wrapped up in what everyone else is doing and how seemingly perfect their life seems to be.
I actually just did that today as I read a blog post from another blogger. She always seems to have it all together and she’s incredibly organized. I allowed my mind to go there. You know where there is…the pit of “I wish I could be her.”
I began to wish that I was more organized, more efficient with my time, a better mom, a better cook… you get the picture. I began to wish for better and more.
Thankfully my husband quickly bounced me back by reminding me that nothing is as perfect as it seems.
And not to say her life isn’t great! She just has strengths that are different than mine. And that’s ok!
We are all different. God did not make us the same. And thank goodness He didn’t because how boring would that be?
But even though He didn’t make us the same, guess what? He does love us the same!
He loved us all enough to send His only son to take our place and die for our sins.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
And this love, we don’t have to work for it. We don’t have to earn it. We don’t have to do one thing. God loves us just because. And He offers us a gift. A gift that we don’t have to work for. And that gift is eternal life. All He asks of us is to choose Him. And when we do, He promises us a life with Him for eternity.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
I know that it’s easy to compare our life to those that we see on social media. It’s easy to go down that road of saying our lives aren’t as good as so and so. But I’m here to tell you that your life is exactly what God has designed it to be. And when we look at someone’s life and wish for what they have, it keeps us from seeing all of the blessings that God is pouring into our life.
There’s a difference in being encouraged by someone’s life and being envious of someone’s life. And being encouraged is where I want to be.
I heard something a while ago that I’ve tried to put into practice when I feel comparison begin to steal my joy. It’s super easy to do and I want to encourage you to do the same.
It’s quite simple actually, when you feel yourself begin to get jealous or envious choose to compliment that person instead. Choose to be a cheerleader. It forces your brain to turn those negative thoughts into positive ones and it completely changes your mindset.
Instead of ignoring their post or stories, choose to comment and cheer them on instead. It may feel forced at first, but it will become second nature. I promise, I’ve done this and it’s changed my life so much. I suffered for years with discontent. And I refuse to allow myself to go down that hole again.
Sure, I still have my moments like I had today but I’m able to bounce back a lot quicker. I’m able to say, “gosh, she’s such an amazing mom and wife but so am I. Our lives just look different.” I’m able to believe that God may have given us different strengths and talents, but his love for both of us is the same.
And it also allows me to ask her for advice in the areas that she’s good at. I’ve learned so much from this particular blogger. Her posts about organization and time management have helped me tremendously.
And that wouldn’t have happened, had I let comparison get in the way.
Comparison not only steals joy. It has the power to steal friendships and families.
It’s ok to want to better our life just don’t convince yourself that your life right now isn’t great. Work towards goals while enjoying your journey.
So today I want to challenge you to be a cheerleader. When that post pops up in your feed that makes your skin crawl with envy and jealousy comment something positive. Compliment that person. Just do it once and see how it makes you feel. I can promise you that instead of dwelling on how much better their life is for the rest of the day…you will actually think about it only for a second and then it will be gone.
We have to be content. We have to work on our families and our lives. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. It’s greener where you water it.
Stop trying to be her. Be you. Work on you. Do you. Water your family and choose to look for the good every single day.
I can promise you that her kids are throwing tantrums, too. She has bad days, too. She needs encouragement, too. Nobody is perfect.
I know that this post is all over the place, but I really hope that I was able to truly get my point across this morning.
If anything, I just want you to know that you are loved by the King. Joseph shared a song with me yesterday that’s on repeat right now. And one of the phrases that stuck with Joseph was this, “I’ll never be more loved than I am right now.”
Friend, He loves you. He loves you so very much. He created you and designed you for a purpose. Don’t devalue your purpose by trying to be someone else. Be who God made you to be. And if you feel like you aren’t there yet, then join the club. This life is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. We are all working towards our purpose. A purpose we will not achieve until we are in glory with Him!
Fight the fight. Fight YOUR fight.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8
I love y’all!! Click here to listen to the song Joseph shared with me. Make sure you listen to the lyrics. They are powerful!
XO