You would think so, but as humans we are always trying to change ourselves. We are always comparing ourselves to others. We look at all the things those around us are doing and then we look at our life. I ask myself daily, "Am I really making an impact? Am I really where I need to be?
We live in a world where we are always hearing what we should be. What we need to do to find success. How to improve our lives. How to..how to..how to. Do we ever just stop to think, "Lord, what do You see?" We are always trying to recreate ourselves. Isn't that a gentle job of the Lord? That job doesn't belong to the fashion magazines or what the red carpet has on for show. There is only one self help book out there we should be reading.
It's so hard to share truths about our own lives. You ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you my life is an open book. But there is no one who knows me like my Savior. You know, each morning I walk past my mirror and look at myself and think, "Ugh, what a mess". I don't think it's getting older. I think I have always done this as far back as I can remember.
I sit and think of all the things I need to do, and at the end of the day I am kicking myself because I didn't get them all done.
I look at the projects before me and I wonder if this is even what God wants me to do. I see writers who pen thousands of words a day and shine light on all they do. I sit here at my desk and wonder, "How in the world do they spend that much time on the computer accomplishing so much?" Sometimes I just feel like giving up because I see the task before me as just too big. How do you divide that time and make room for everything? I simply can't.
I try and I try and I try.
But then I get an email from a reader who was touched by something I have penned. I receive a card in the mail from an author who just wanted to send encouragement. I get a simple text from a friend that says, "Thank you". Best of all, my hubs will take my hand and say, "I love you". I will hear one of my children say, "Thanks so much, Mom". My mother will call and say, "Rob, thanks for doing my laundry". Then, it all makes sense. It's like God opens a window and lets the Son shine in on my cloudy day.
Whether I get that book done or not. Whether I pen 20,000 words a day or not. Whether I accomplish everything on my to-do list, I am still a child of the King. I am His daughter. I am His princess. He created me. I am therefore created in His image. Even on those days where I wouldn't make run way material, in His eyes, I'm already there, and He is there to lead me down the aisle.
Friends, we don't have to compete with others. We don't have to measure up to anyone else. It's okay to get rid of that to-do list and simply just do what you can. See, I am realizing as long as I have my eyes on my Savior, I am who I am suppose to be. I am right where I am to be when I am focused totally on Him.
We get caught in a trap when we begin looking for encouragement through others. Sometimes it just isn't there. There are always going to be people looking at you as if you are a never going to be anything or do anything. But then again, you will have those in your life who cheer you on with love. Those who look up to you, not because of what you do or who you are, but because you have loved them.
I'm an original. Saved by grace. Created by a King.
With each stroke of a brush He creates in me. He uses every color and every angle to design me into beauty. He uses every tool to complete in me so that my finished work is perfection. He doesn't erase, He only adds. I know I am a work in progress, but to Him I am already beautiful. I don't need to look to others to see what I need to change or add to my life. I only need to watch what my Master Designer is doing and follow Him.
Sometimes I think it would be great for us to throw out all our mirror and scales that we look at in despair. When faced with the mirror too often we are not there to see the beauty before us, but we are there picking out every single flaw. As for that scale. Ladies, we allow that scale to determine whether we are happy that day or not. If not, that fridge is the closest thing to happiness we are going to find and then it's back to the scale all over again.
As mothers we compare ourselves and boy, is that bar set high. Why do we do such things? As mothers we often say of another, "I would never do that to my child", or "I would never allow that to happen"? Really? Have you been there? Have you faced what they have faced? Do you know all the details that have led up to that point?
Even as friends, we skip out on one another when things aren't going perfectly. We don't make time for one another and often when we do, it's all about us. I often wonder how many times do we say to another, "So, tell me all about what's going on in your life today? What's the Lord doing for you today?" We live in a me centered world.
Joy..Joy..Joy..
I hum the words to the song today, "I've got joy joy joy down in my heart..down in my heart..down in my heart..I've got joy joy joy down in my heart today". Do you have that kind of joy? Not the happiness we search for in this world. Not the things this world can offer or the things we buy to make us smile. Not the high of having a great day where all is perfect, but the joy that makes everything okay. The joy that makes you smile from your heart outward. The joy of being loved by a Savior who chose you! The joy of simply being a daughter of the King of kings. The joy that overrides all wrong. That joy that keeps us centered and away from selfish behavior. The joy that captures the intimate moments of the day. Real joy that lasts.
See, my Savior, doesn't want me to be like anyone else. He wants me to be the me He created me to be. He wants me to look in the mirror and see Him. He wants me to make my day around Him, not my plans and then Him. Whether I pen 10,000 or just 10, as long as they honor Him, those words hold power. If I get my toilet cleaned today, that's great. Life is too sweet to live by checking job by job off a list. Our daily lives should be filled with gratitude and kindness. It is in that sweet attitude that we can face those tasks before us with a whole new attitude.
Each day brings something new. We don't have to wake like we are attacking the day. Why not wake enjoying each moment without dreading the next and simply waiting for Friday to arrive? We need to fill our days with passion. It's that passion that draws us nearer to the Lord and seeks His will for our daily lives. Passion is an outward action that begins inward with the Lord.
Friends, I hope today as you pass by that mirror you can see the beauty that God has created in you. It is my prayer that you feel loved just by knowing your Savior created you because He wanted the world to see Him through you. I encourage you to not look to your neighbor, your friend, that person who seems to have it all together and think you have to keep up. Your doing just fine. Settle in your day focused on the One who gave you today as a gift. Get comfortable in your own skin. Love those very people around you. Most importantly, allow the Lord to love on you today and accept all He has for you.
"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be outnumbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, You are still with me!"
Psalm 139:13-18
