Comparison
I know that I have talked about this before, perhaps not on the blog but definitely on Facebook. In short, check out the blooper reel before you go thinking that someone else's highlight reel is a true reflection of their daily real life. It's important to use the right measuring tool you know.
My thoughts are drifting back to a comment made by my brother in law last night that made me think of how many times I compare someone else's highlight reel to my blooper reel. The two are like comparing apples and oranges. Both fruit, but completely different in appearance, taste and texture.
Just like highlights and bloopers.
Anyway, brother in law was watching my kids help in the kitchen, which basically consisted of a kid showing up to look for food and being given a job. I finished up dinner while assigning duties "I know you are hungry, start setting the table with plates so that we can eat." And the child (mostly) followed those directions. Next child shows up and it's a repeat, only I assign silverware. It goes on for a few minutes when brother in law observes that I have trained the kids well and that I should give his kids a lesson. What's funny here is that I was giving jobs to his kids as well - and they were doing them without complaint, right?
Because I don't care who you are...you ALWAYS want to look your best when someone else is watching. So of course my kids turned into helpers - their big cousins were there to watch! And of course my niece and nephew turned into helpers - their little cousins were watching and they know that they shoulder the burden of setting a good example. Basically...highlight reel, right?
On any other night with no cousins to impress and no spirit of teamwork between the bigs and the littles my kids would have ignored the request for plates, ignored that dinner was on it's way and attempted to grab a yogurt because they are SOOOOO hungry! Which is something closer to the blooper reel, am I right?
Anyway, thinking back to that this morning I realize anew that comparison is the thief of joy. How many times have I looked at the public face of another family and wondered why my family couldn't look like that? How many times have I measured my success as a parent by the success of a parent with an older child? How many times have I measured the depth of my relationships by what I see of
others?
I love this verse from Romans:
Just like highlights and bloopers.
Because I don't care who you are...you ALWAYS want to look your best when someone else is watching. So of course my kids turned into helpers - their big cousins were there to watch! And of course my niece and nephew turned into helpers - their little cousins were watching and they know that they shoulder the burden of setting a good example. Basically...highlight reel, right?
On any other night with no cousins to impress and no spirit of teamwork between the bigs and the littles my kids would have ignored the request for plates, ignored that dinner was on it's way and attempted to grab a yogurt because they are SOOOOO hungry! Which is something closer to the blooper reel, am I right?
Anyway, thinking back to that this morning I realize anew that comparison is the thief of joy. How many times have I looked at the public face of another family and wondered why my family couldn't look like that? How many times have I measured my success as a parent by the success of a parent with an older child? How many times have I measured the depth of my relationships by what I see of
others?
I love this verse from Romans:
So let's quit the comparison, huh? Let's just be who God made us to be and do what the Lord puts in front of us for today and trust that he is going to work it all out in the end.
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