Our society is full of underlying messages of what life should be like. It paints a picture of the perfect life! There are all different types of messages about perfection. One wants you to believe if you have “this” or buy “that” you will achieve your dreams or your life will be filled with success or you will feel joy like never before! The “this” or “that” all depends on what they are selling. But it is not just the marking of products that produces feelings of inferiority. It is expectations of the society in which we live. Your life is great when you make X amount of money, when you drive X type of car or live in the X neighborhood or city. We even place expectations of perfection on our children. Our lives are great if our children get into the perfect pre-school, make the travel baseball team, become a Varsity letter winner freshman year, take 4 AP classes. You name it- we can make the things of this world into a tool upon which we measure our value and worth. I feel the need to share that this side of heaven there is no one, no life, no job, no spouse, no child, no relationship that is perfect. Life isn’t about comparison to what others have or do. For me it is about my relationship with my Creator and Savior.
When we put so much pressure on ourselves and by association on our significant others, children, and friends, we throw away joy. Over the years when my children have ranked themselves up against others I have told them, “The only one you should ever compare yourself to is Jesus.” We can never measure up to Him which is why He came to us! This is something I have to tell myself over and over again. It is something we probably all need to hear. My worth is not in my abilities, otherwise I would be loosing value as I age. It is not in my successes, otherwise my failures would derail me. It is not in my relationships, that is way to much pressure to put on another human being. My worth comes only from the one who created me- like a fine piece of artwork.
You and I are not made the same. We have different talents, different preferences; we probably view situations from different perspectives and that is all just how God created us to be. This world would be so boring if there were a whole lot of little Christys running around with no one like you. We can choose to bring out the best in one another or we can choose to criticize and compete. I want to love others with the love that the Lord has shown me. I want others to feel the love that the Lord has for them because that love has the power to change lives. It has the power to heal broken hearts and broken homes. Our world has a lot of broken people walking around with deep hurts often from other broken people.
What if we build bridges? What if we choose to make a difference by letting others know that we see them? What if we truly treated others as we would like to be treated? Do your part to mend relationships. Write to a friend you haven’t talked to in a long time. Send a card to a neighbor you know is going through a difficult time. You words don’t have to be lengthy to matter. You don’t need to be eloquent of word to touch a soul. Just be present. Build connections! Let people know that you miss them. Reach out!
And when you do, share it with me here! I want to know that you’ve chosen to make a difference in someone’s life.
