Taking Back My Joy....or at least trying!

I love this and "stole" it from the Facebook page "Encouragement Through Biblical Words". I really struggle with comparing and it truly does steal your joy! I compare so much, I often times don't even realize I am doing it. I compare myself with others, my kids with other kids, my skills/accomplishments with others, etc. "I'm not as good of a mom as _____", "_____ is so much better at balancing her life as wife, mom, friend, than I am", "_____'s house looks amazing all the time, why can't mine look like that? I struggle to just stay above the mess...", "I wish I had patience with my boys like ____ has with her kids".

I compare my personality, my looks, my weight, my body, my spiritual walk, my level of maturity, and my abilities as a wife, mother, and keeper of my house with pretty much every person I come into contact with...pathetic I know, but it's true. Maybe it's a lack of self esteem, I don't know, but I think it probably has more to do with a lack of confidence in who God made me to be.

I think often times I get so caught up in my circumstances or the "it's all about me" attitude that society teaches us to have, that I take my eyes off of what really matters...and that is who I am in Christ. And when I put my time, and energy, and focus back on Him, everything that I was fretting about gets put back into perspective. I realize that in Christ I am complete and I am God's chosen, I am God's child, and I am God's precious jewel. I have this saved on my desktop and hanging in my kitchen as a constant reminder of who God sees when He looks at me. There is only one me and I am made in God's likeness. He made me for a purpose that no one else can fulfill and for that reason alone, I should not compare myself to others because He did not make me to be "others", but to be the best me that I can be through Him. Probably sounds cheesy and cliche, but it's the truth.

I have also learned that I can only compare myself to what I think I know about others. I need to be my authentic self and not try to be someone else because I really don't know what their life is like, only what I perceive it to be and what I perceive may actually be very different from what really is. They may have a lot of things going on in their life that I don't know about and would not want to have on my plate. "Be thankful for what you have Debbie and don't wish for what others have...you don't know what other things may come with it."

Wow, all that from a simple Facebook post! It is great to get reminders like this...and I need them on a daily basis for sure! Okay I am signing off for tonight since it is now actually "tomorrow" and I have set my alarm for way earlier then I ever want to get up so that I can have my quiet time before my loud, crazy, busy day begins! Thanks for listening to my rambling thoughts and maybe (hopefully) you were able to take something (anything??) away from this! :)