"We won't be distracted by comparison if we're captivated with purpose."
Easier said than done, right? I'm guilty of comparison. It's almost next to impossible to go through a day without comparing yourself, your life, your job, your things, your opinions, your decisions, your family, something, anything to someone else. Someone or something else is always going to look bigger and better. That's true for the flip side...but we tend to focus on the "better" (ahem, what we don't have, we think we want more...who we aren't, we think we want to be). When we focus on what others have or who they are, we seem to lose purpose. If I spend my days comparing, I become less and less, while "they" or "it" or something [becomes] appears more and more. I emphasize "appearance" because it's not the truth. Example: sometimes I spend my days comparing my relationship, engagement, upcoming wedding, life experiences, education, job, family, friends, things in general to everybody else. Shouldn't I be back in school like "everyone else"? Why don't I have a house of my own? Wouldn't it be easier if both of our families lived in the same state? Wouldn't it be nice if we didn't have to move across the country? Isn't it unfair that we have to spend the first four months of marriage mostly apart? Why do I not have (that) or get to do (this)? These are the lies that fill my head when I compare me to you. These are the comparisons that kill my joy and purpose. The reality is that I am who I am, and you are who you are. We are all created by He who values differences -- differences that bring many, many talents and experiences to the table. Some of us are teachers and some listeners; some practice music and some practice sports; some are rich and others poor; some are outgoing and some are quiet, and so on. The idea here? Despite our personalities, relationships, lifestyles, possessions, we're all His children, and we all have a purpose. My purpose is to be a daughter, a sister, a fiancé, a nurse, a coworker, or a friend. At times I'm a comforter for a friend, a listener for a coworker, or a teacher for a patient. Sometimes I focus on being a daughter and spending time with my parents, or being a "cat mom", doing what it takes to care for Catsby Gatsby on a daily basis (ha!). But above all else, I'm serving a bigger purpose in everything I do : a purpose that doesn't compare our doubts, our jealousies, our insecurities or fears. Being captivated in living out this purpose diminishes the temptation to look across the room or to click on the post or the picture that tells me I am somehow not enough. Living out my purpose doesn't include constant thoughts and comparisons of what I should or could or would be, or anything other than myself. Living out my purpose does include loving others and valuing who I am because of who He is. "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- his good, pleasing and perfect will." -Romans 12:2
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