Yes, it is a weird title. I honestly could not come up with a better one because my train of thought is not pretty and consistent enough in this post to deserve a better title. Oh well! Read on.
Sometimes, the things I do by second-nature are some nasty habits and I do not even realize it!
For example, the first thing I do in the morning- scratch that- The SECOND thing I do in the morning, as I make a cup of coffee first: I check all my phone notifications, scroll through Instagram and Facebook and sneak in a few random videos on my feed. Am I the only one who does this? I seriously doubt it. I also imagine you have heard about this habit before, how this might actually be a bad habit. Perhaps you have heard that this starts the day unproductively, or it causes you to stress out immediately (work notifications, tension over a text conversation, etc.). I think those points can be true. However, in my case, I find myself getting jealous of what I see on my feed!
Why does everyone look so stinkin' happy all the time?
Yeah, dumb question. There really are not a lot of people who would post every bad thing going on in their life to remind the world that they are human. It is fun to post the good stuff! It is fun embellishing the good stuff with filters to make it look even better. I am not saying it is fake, although I imagine some posts are at least a little fake. I am just pointing out an observation.
99.9% of my feed is all smiles, candid laughs and, well, perfect.
Going even further, you may also see this every now and then: the picture of someone with an evening glow haloing around their beaming, smiling face, and then you read their deeply empathetic post below about how life is not always perfect and clean-cut, blah blah blah. I do think that if that smiling person wants some consistency in their post, there should be a pic of them IN those imperfect moments. How about some bed-head and eye bags because you had a hard time getting motivated to face the day, or an action shot of you arguing with your coworker, friend, spouse, dog (kidding....)? That would make a lot more sense! Honestly, I raise my eyebrows at those smiling pics thinking, "Pa-LEEZE, you have real life problems?"
Okay, okay. I sound like a cynical jerk. Sorry!
I am guilty of this too! Scroll through my feed, and you will see that just about every pic is me with people I love- SMILING- with a clever caption to go with (at least I think they're clever... who knows). I would never post my behind-the-scenes break-downs and arguments and bed-head and eye bags because I really do not think people would enjoy looking at brutal honesty that life looks like this more often than we like it to.
Am I sounding depressing? Let me continue!
In the midst of me realizing my attitude towards social media posts, I have to ask myself why I am bothered by it. This morning, I saw a post of some people baking and decorating Christmas cookies, and I kid you not- I got jealous of that! Why? Because Alex and I have not made Christmas cookies yet. He is at work this morning and I am slammed with schoolwork. This is pretty stupid of me, so you are completely allowed to think, "Grace, it is December fifth and you are already comparing yourself to what others are doing for the holidays. Get a grip." I totally agree with you!
Truth is, I compare, then I get discontent.
So what is the alternative?
Ah, the obvious, quit comparing!
This is something I think a lot of us intellectually know, but may not always apply. We strive to not compare ourselves to others, but without even noticing it, it happens! Thank God for His grace to remind us to knock it off because our identity is in Him:
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." -2 Corinthians 5:17
Furthermore (<- This is a total college-paper embellishment word here that replaces "Oh yeah, I am not done yet"... I crack myself up), when I recognize I have a leniency to compare myself to others five minutes after opening my eyes in the morning, there is a huge need to get into God's Word FIRST instead of my social media. What source better reminds us of the inheritance we have in Christ (Col. 3:23), our peace and joy in Him (Rom. 15:14), and most importantly, that we have a God who works all things for His glory- not ours (Rom. 8:28). In the end, I know I will never be content if I think life is only good when it feels good for me at the moment.
Life is not always good, but God always is.
He is the ultimate good I can come to every morning and remind myself that He is enough! Perhaps, with that reminder, I will compare my holiday to others less and have true joy in the blessings I have here and now.
As a final reminder, there are so many people this Christmas who will be struggling for the loss of loved ones, dealing with financial hardships, being far from home, etc. Perhaps dedicating time to pray for these people and serve them in whatever capacity we are able can remind us not only of the blessings we have, but can also reflect the compassion we have been shown in Christ, the Savior we celebrate every Christmas. I have a lot of room for growth in this area. The holidays feel busy and the time seems to fly by before I even think of how I can give and serve those who especially need it. However, this will be something I consider and work on this month. I hope you do too!
-Grace B.
*Insert deeply empathetic post about life's imperfections here because it makes total sense with this SMILEY picture of my awesome mini fam. Dogs make every picture perfect.*
“In the end, I know I will never be content if I think life is only good when it feels good for me at the moment.” — super good quote Grace! Thank you for sharing your heart!
ReplyDeleteSo so true Grace. The comparison game is ugly and leaves us always feeling less than. But in Christ we are more than and to focus on that first is such wise advice. We fill our cup up with Him first in the morning and it's amazing how much our outlook changes for the good! Love you sweet girl!
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