I like to believe that I'm the girl people perceive me to be on campus, social media, at appearances; Who has her life together and doesn't doubt who she is or why she does what she does. However, the truth to this lie swirling in my head is that no one is like they are perceived.
Picture the person you aspire to be like the most - reach as far as you can reach! Now, think about how tired they might be when they go to bed at night or sometimes when they go to put their socks on they put the wrong one on the wrong foot or they spill their coffee on themselves when they're running out the door. Humanizes them a little bit doesn't it? Now that they're real people in your brain, do you really think they don't compare themselves to the actress, singer, writer, winner next to them?
We each have days where we doubt who the Lord has created in us and for me, today is one of those days. As I think about what can get me out of my slump, I'm reminded of words I got to speak over friends almost a year ago and realize I need them now more than ever and they will impact me more than anyone may know.
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19.
Comparison is the thief of joy, and yet gratitude is the renewal.
Maybe you just graduated college and you're comparing your post grad life to your former peers, or you chose to do what the Lord was calling you to do this summer but it doesn't look like a "career advancing internship" plastered by your friends on social media, or this person has the job or boy or clothes or whatever it is that fuels a heart of comparison within you.
Maybe you're me trying to create a presentation of all that you've done and you simply feel like it's coming up short.
you, feel like you're coming up short.
Who decided that this was a race? Who planted the seeds in our hearts and minds that life is a competition? I would personally like to throat chop them (enter really comedic laugh from those who know me best). People say that gratitude is the renewal of joy and yet I'm looking at a compilation of all I should be grateful for that the Lord has done through my story and frankly that is the last emotion that I feel. I am overwhelmed by the work to finish and underwhelmed by a lack of a sense of accomplishment
...and I'm rambling. Because I don't have an answer. I still believe that gratitude is the renewal but I can't always say that it's a magic trick. It doesn't come overnight nor does it stay overnight.
But I pray that on a rainy day like today, that you can look in a mirror and see what wonderful works the Lord has done in you. Maybe today it's just one reason, but there is hope that tomorrow there will be a thousand.
I can't make you joyful or grateful amidst comparison. But I can look you in the eye (through this screen) and tell you that you are valuable. Beautiful and purposeful beyond compare. I praise the Lord for you and the story he is creating through you. You have no idea the lives you will touch simply because He touched yours, and you get to walk in that.
Here to hold a mirror and shout compliments at you, as I attempt to do the same,
Your friend,
Mary-Coker
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