Is it Just Me?

Is it just me or does it seem like everyone else that you know just always seem to have it all together?

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Everyone else's kids seem to be so much more well behaved, their homes are more tidier, and their marriages so much more romantic and more blissful and than mine own. Christmas just passed us by and if your mailbox looked anything like mines, you received a box full of cards with family pictures of well dressed, beautifully posed families. When you gaze at those pictures, am I the only one who wonders about the story behind the picture? If their family Christmas picture posing day was anything like mines it included a disgruntled preteen worrying about finding the right pair of pants to match her sweater, a cranky toddler wanting to nap a bit more before getting dressed, and the threat of a rainstorm looming in the weather report just in time for our outdoor photo shoot. Because we don't get to see the struggles, the upsets, the life lived behind the picture, we sort of get tricked into thinking that that everyone else's life is so much more easier, blissful, and happier than our own. God promises in the Bible that in this life, we will have troubles so we shouldn't be surprised when unfortunate things happen.

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;

1 Peter 4:12

If we compare our homes, our marriages, our children, and our personal successes to the achievements of others, we'll develop a sense within ourselves that we're never measuring up in life.  Is the grass truly greener on the other side of your neighbor's fence?  The truth is, no one life's is as blissful as the family portrait with a cleanly shaved husband, perfectly groomed children, and a well manicured dog. Some days your family won't like the meal that you slaved over for hours, the car will not always run as smoothly as you like and just may leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere now and then, and the weather will not always be clear and beautiful when you've scheduled a vacation.

Life is not a Hallmark Card, though we'd like to think that it should be.

The next time that we start to compare the behavior of the kids that sit so quietly in Church to your own fidgety, easily agitated kids, just praise the Lord that you're in Church and they're hearing God's Word. We need to count our blessings, thank the Lord for every moment that He showers His grace upon us, and be grateful for the grass within our own fences.