Please, Read This Article

I'm linking up this post to an article I read a week or two ago. It deals with kids, and as you know, we don't have any. This little fact doesn't mean that the article doesn't apply to me. At the heart of this article is the idea that we as women need to stop comparing ourselves to each other.

Confession time: I do this. I do this A LOT! I don't look like ______. My house isn't clean or decorated like __________. You get the idea.

But here's the deal: the people in our lives don't care if we aren't just like Ms. So-and-So. The people in our lives who really care about us, love us for who WE  are, just as we are.

My husband married me because he loves ME, not because I'm someone else. My husband loves me, flaws, quirks and imperfections included (even if I do make him a little crazy every now and then- it's good for him, right? ;) This means that I need to stope trying to be someone I'm not. This means I need to stop comparing myself to someone else and just embrace being me. No guilt trips. No wishing I could do something as good as ___________.

The other thing this article pointed out was that we are often comparing ourselves to the random assortment of odds and ends that we find on blogs, magazines, TV and Pinterest. Before you think I'm going to bask Pinterest, I'm not. I LOVE Pinterest. It's a huge help for me when I'm planning meals, looking for ideas for decorating my home, or just feel like wasting time. Pinterest is a great resource for researching all kinds of stuff. Pinterest and I are tight. BUT, if I let Pinterest control my life and the way I view myself, or allow it to determine my self-worth, then it's time to step back and call time out.

My value doesn't come from how clean, organized and perfectly decorated my house is, complete with the perfectly cooked meal in the oven. My value doesn't come from the clothes I wear or how I look. My value comes from the One who made me. My value comes because of who Christ has done in my life and what He is continuing to do in my life (Have I mentioned that I'm glad He's not through molding and shaping me yet? Cuz I'm really, as in REALLY-CRAZY-GLAD He's not done with me yet!)

God created me for a purpose. He created me with a specific set of skills, abilities, dreams and talents that all fit together for that purpose. (I'm still working on understanding that purpose, but one step at a time, right?) He has made me unique. Unique means I'm different from you, but it's good. Our purposes and journeys to those purposes are different, but that's all in the design. It's good, really good.

As you read the article, be encouraged. Be yourself. Embrace what God has given you and the road He's got you traveling.

Here's the Article. I hope it is as encouraging for you as it is for me.

Learning

Sometime, life isn't easy. I'm pretty sure you can agree with this observation. Right now, life isn't particularly easy. I cry, a LOT, and about everything. Every emotion you can think of, I express through tears. It's kinda pathetic, I tell ya... and annoying. Let's not forget how I manage to annoy myself by crying. It's a hassel. Having said this, I should also mention that my life is still wonderful.

My circumstances do not change the fact that my life is wonderful. I serve a loving, LIVING Lord who counts every tear, knows every need and never leaves me to walk through anything on my own. I am blessed to have a wonderful, loving husband who puts up with me and walks with me through it all- the easy and the difficult, the good and the not so good. I have the best family and friends in the world who support me and encourage me. I. Am. Blessed.

This is not to say my life is perfect. It's not. It won't ever be. Some days, I just feel like running away and joining the circus. But I don't. I won't. I will walk through all of this life I am blessed to call mine. I will feel each moment of joy and each moment of sorrow. I will give thanks and praise to the One who gives every good and perfect gift.

Lately, the Lord has been teaching me to trust Him, even when things are going the way I'd like. He's been teaching me to take a deep breath and give him thanks for all things. He's been teaching me that when it's hard to trust, choose to trust for each moment and breath, and when the next breath comes along, trust Him for that one as well. It isn't easy but it's worth it. He is showing me where peace is found. It's a good place, but a difficult one.

My sink is full of dirty dishes, my dishwasher is full of clean ones. My laundry, both clean and dirty runneth over. The house needs to be vacuumed, dusted, moped and scrubbed. But that's life. And I'm okay with that.