I love feeling joyful. I often feel so close to God when I am joyful. It is beautiful, refreshing and peaceful.
I wish I could say I have joy all the time and that it is never a struggle for me to find joy. But that would not be true. I saw the picture above on Pinterest the other day and had to post it. I have heard this quote many times but for some reason, this time it jumped out at me and almost slapped me in the face. How often do I start comparing myself to others or comparing my relationship with my husband to other peoples relationships? Unfortunately, the answer is a lot. It seems like every other day I am seeing someone else that I can compare myself to. What does that do? Steals my joy. It makes me second guess every decision I make for the rest of the day and it makes me self conscious of what I look like, how I am dressed, what I say, where I live and what I write. It even sometimes makes me question my relationship with my husband...how scary is that? I feel like I need to ask myself, "what's the point?!" Why do I consistently make myself miserable by comparing myself to other people, often to people I don't even know?!!
Because I care so much about what people think. I care about what others think about me, my husband and our relationship. It is always seems to be on my mind when I am with other people. Did they think what I said was stupid? Is my hair a mess? Did I make them uncomfortable or mad?
I hate that I have a tendency to try to impress people or make myself seem perfect and without flaws. I am never going to succeed at being perfect so why do I even try to make myself seem that way?
"Not
that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are
commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and
compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding."
2 Corinthians 10:12
I wish I could say I have joy all the time and that it is never a struggle for me to find joy. But that would not be true. I saw the picture above on Pinterest the other day and had to post it. I have heard this quote many times but for some reason, this time it jumped out at me and almost slapped me in the face. How often do I start comparing myself to others or comparing my relationship with my husband to other peoples relationships? Unfortunately, the answer is a lot. It seems like every other day I am seeing someone else that I can compare myself to. What does that do? Steals my joy. It makes me second guess every decision I make for the rest of the day and it makes me self conscious of what I look like, how I am dressed, what I say, where I live and what I write. It even sometimes makes me question my relationship with my husband...how scary is that? I feel like I need to ask myself, "what's the point?!" Why do I consistently make myself miserable by comparing myself to other people, often to people I don't even know?!!
Because I care so much about what people think. I care about what others think about me, my husband and our relationship. It is always seems to be on my mind when I am with other people. Did they think what I said was stupid? Is my hair a mess? Did I make them uncomfortable or mad?
I hate that I have a tendency to try to impress people or make myself seem perfect and without flaws. I am never going to succeed at being perfect so why do I even try to make myself seem that way?
"For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I
trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a
servant of Christ."
Galations 1:10
I have been so convicted of this lately, especially with my blogging. I started blogging on a more consistent basis about 4-5 months ago. It has been a consistent joy in my life and I have really loved sharing my heart with ya'll and hearing from others through their blogs. But sometimes that joy gets stolen because of comparison. I find myself worrying way too much about how many followers I have and whether or not people will like my posts. I compare my background and fonts and pictures to every blog I see and it has started to steal my joy of blogging.
Now, I want you to know that I have absolutely nothing against trying to grow your blog and learn new ways to get more followers but I can sometimes take it too far. I can become apathetic about my blog because in comparison to others it is not much. That is not the reason I started blogging the first place and I refuse to let myself get to that point. The reason I started blogging in the first place was to try and encourage women in their faith and marriages and to share my life with family and friends.
"Do
nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant
than yourselves."
Philippians 2:3
The only way I can give up control and stop comparing myself to others, is to give it over to my Heavenly Father who loves me just the way I am. He created me and he adores me. How incredible is that? We do not deserve this unconditional love and patience but He still gives it. How awesome would it be if every time we wanted to compare ourselves to someone else we stopped and prayed for that person?!! That is my challenge for you and for me today!
Let's be friends! If you and I don't know each other yet, please don't hesitate to drop a comment with your info! I would love to discover your blog and hear what the Lord is teaching you!
Love,
Lindsey
Love,
Lindsey
Thank you so much for being so honest! Honestly, I feel the same about my blog sometimes to. Okay, maybe a lot of the time! I'm constantly comparing myself to others. I've gotten better since I've gotten older, but it's definitely been a struggle my entire life. Aren't we so lucky to have a God that considers us righteous and amazing? Also, it's so important to remember our reason for being on this earth in the first place: not to glorify ourselves, but to glorify HIM. We are all so focused on ourselves, that we forget that this life is really about Him. This place is only temporary, and I find myself forgetting that way too often. Aw, I'm so encouraged by your post :)
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely, honest post Lindsey! Comparison is definitely the thief of joy... And even more comparing your beginning to someone else's middle. You are so kind and your blog is such an encouragement to me.
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