When it comes to throwing birthday parties for their kids, some moms just innately know what to do and can pretty much do it with their eyes closed. From the decor to the food, to the perfectly wrapped presents with handmade bows that look like they came straight out of a Neiman Marcus gift catalog.
They are the moms who operate from a completely different frequency and have obtained a Doctoral Degree in Pinterest, designing, decorating, and doing all things well.
I am not one of them
Never have been.
Most likely never will be.
The problem is that birthdays come around once a year. This meant that at the very least two different times during each and every year, my lack of birthday planning skills will be highlighted for a solid 24 hours.
There are many ways in which we compare. Not only do we compare our bodies and our talents or lack thereof, we often compare our spouses and children to those around us. Comparison does one of two things: it will either make you feel BETTER THAN or WORSE THAN. Andy Stanley said, “Comparison is determining where I am based on where everyone else is.” This means that there are no winners in the game of comparison. You either enter a world of arrogance and self-righteousness when you determine you are “BETTER THAN” or you land in the world of self-defeat and by deciding you are “WORSE THAN.”
Terry and I dated for eleven years before we got married. During that eleven years, I was a bridesmaid eleven times. If you are counting, that’s one per year. I also watched most of my friends begin raising children while I kept thinking I wasn’t genuinely living until I walked down that aisle. After all, everyone around me was leapfrogging me, and indeed something was wrong with me that we had not yet gotten married.
God began to show me that the measure I compared myself to others would be the same measure my joy would be stolen.
We compare our homes, our weight, our salary, our titles, our skill levels, our spouses, our children, and the list goes on.
You see, it’s not that your talents actually become less when you compare
them to others; it’s just that you slowly devalue who you are and what you have.
As we start a brand new year this week, may we purpose to be grateful for the gifts we have been given while also becoming completely okay with what we don’t have.
Where there is complete contentedness, there is true peace.
Happy, peaceful New Year to all of you!
