"Comparison is the theif of Joy" - Franklin Roosevelt.
Never a truer statement has been said. My whole last year I feel like I battled with comparison stealing my joy. I did it to myself. Facebook. blogs, MOPS, playdates...all good in their own right aren't good if you come away with comparing yourself to others and feeling like a failure or that your life is boring. Moreoften than not after these activities I found myself wallowing in self pity. I sit there and say "seriously? They're going to Cancuun? Their baby slept 8 hours the 2nd night home? Their husband never ever annoys them in the least?" I was filled with thoughts from the Great Deceiver that my life was not up to par. My kids weren't the best, my husband was not exceptional or my finances were a mess.
What we see of others lives is most often not the reality either. We only see what they want us to see. We don't see lonely nights, or their unsettled heart or their lack of hope. Why am I even thinking that their life that is not being lived for Christ is even somewhat more appealing than a life that is in God's favor?
God got ahold of me though. Showed me that every good and perfect gift is from above. From my heavenly Father. All I have is HIS. If it's all His, it's gotta be the best for me right?
Too many of us women get caught in the cycle of seeing someone else's life as better than ours. We miss opportunties to be joyful. My husband is mine. A gift from God. My kids are mine. A gift from God. My finances...they belong to God. A gift from God.
When I started looking at what my life consists of as a gift from God, I found joy again.
Do my kids always sleep all night? Nope. Are we still paying off bills accumulated prior to our marriage? Yep, can't go to Cacuun quite yet. Does my husband do annoying things? Yep, so do I.
I have a great life. I really do! Do I have crazy parts? Yes and it's just making me more like Christ. If we never have struggles how do we really know God's grace, mercy and unconditional love?
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