So yeah, I started back to M.O.M.S (Making Our Mothering Significant)yesterday, and it was wonderful and so needed. Just to hear several Godly women speak and to sing some worship songs did my heart good. I had some anxiety about going, just because of Hadley's history of staying with anyone but me. :) Usually it is a lot of screaming but I prayed and prayed that she would stay and feel safe and secure and she did it! I was so proud of her!
One of the things that just really stuck out to me yesterday at MOMS that I have always struggled with and still do is comparison. The speaker described it as looking over other people's fences. I am always comparing myself to women I see as amazing moms, amazing wives, people who have kids who are always well behaved, people who just seem to have it all together, and the list could go on and on. I have always been hard on myself and all of this comparing only makes things worse.
I have seen the quote: "Comparison is the thief of joy" over and over on blogs, Facebook and Instagram here lately, and it is like God is knocking me upside the head with it. But, how true is that?! When we compare we become blind to the things we do have. We all struggle in some way or another, some more and some less, but when we compare ourselves or even our possessions it takes away from what we DO have. I will admit I have been having a hard time in finding joy in my life lately. I have been feeling overwhelmed and tired and just "not with it". I have a wonderful husband and wonderful kids and yet there are days when I miss the joy in them. The sad truth is that I spend so much time comparing that sometimes I miss IT.
Facebook and Instagram are wonderful things, and I love them (probably too much!) but I think a big reason and cause of all this comparison is social media. People post pictures of their cute kids, and families, and they write statuses about wonderful family outings and how their husbands do all these wonderful and romantic things for them. These are great, I mean I absolutely do this too and there is nothing wrong with it, but it paints a "false" picture. I think it just plays on our insecurities. I start thinking about how much better so and so has it, how cute and stylish they are or how lucky they are to have this or that. Ugly, ugly, ugly!
I saw a quote from the preacher of Elevation Church in Charlotte Steve Furtick where he said “One of the reasons we struggle with insecurity is because we are comparing our behind-the-scenes with others highlight reels.” Isn't this so true! Nobody is going to post about all the fights they have with their husband, or a video of them losing their patience with their kids and yelling at them. We just don't do that, and we shouldn't! But, we also shouldn't be comparing ourselves with all of our Facebook friends' statuses either. I'm working on this and I am a slow work in progress, but a work nonetheless. :)
So here I go with my really cute picture of my "perfect" family. :)
And here is one I didn't post. Two kids crying and one mad as a hornet. :)
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