(This has been weighing on me for some time to write about. Something I know we all struggle with.... all my precious friends who are fearfully and wonderfully made!!! I love you all!!!)
So...You know that lie.... the one Satan is constantly throwing at us? "You will never measure up to..." Fill in the blank with whatever your ______ is.... Maybe it's another mom, maybe its your own mom, maybe it's a someone at work, someone on tv, someone on a blog, someone you have just made up in your mind... but we have all heard the lie. It also takes on the form, "You aren't good enough." or "You can't do this" or "You don't have what it takes" and many others...
so here's the truth in that statement... ready for it.... YOU WILL NEVER MEASURE UP!
There I said it... Don't you feel better?? Haha...
But seriously... it is the truth. For me, for you, for all of us. Because what we are trying to measure up to isn't real. It is the "reality" we have made up in our minds of what we think "perfect" should be. And it is one of Satan's most powerful weapons... COMPARISON...
We see other mom's, other women, we read about them, or we hear about them, and then in our heads, we create this warp picture of what the perfect woman looks like and what she does. What her house looks like, what her dinner taste like, what her laundry smells like (because she has only had to wash and dry it once), what her kids act like (and I can guarantee you she never has to grit her teeth and talk in a slight demonic crazy voice just to be heard), what her husband thinks of her (along the lines of super model meets martha steward meets super nanny), etc.... We make up this LIE of what we "should" be and the truth is NO ONE measures up.... We can't!
We have to stop listening to the enemy and let go... Let go of the lie that we keep telling ourselves when we don't get the laundry done. Ever. Let go of the lie we tell ourselves when our kids ate cereal for dinner. (yeah, it happens) Let go of the lie we tell ourselves when all we can say we accomplished that day was that "no one died".... Let go of the lie we tell ourselves when we haven't had our "quiet time" for the 18th time in a row...(you know the lie that we must not really be a Christian if we can't even sit down for 15 minutes and spend quality time with the Lord.... God must really be aggravated with me.... Don't mis-read me... quiet time is vital... VITAL... but for OUR GOOD, not God's. He desires us to spend time with Him because He knows it is what is best for us. He's not keeping tally marks and every time we miss our quiet time giving us a "check" beside our name.... Our quiet time is for our benefit... It is not a "job" or a "duty"... It's literally food for your soul!! If you think of it more as a necessity to survive the day, you may be more likely to accomplish it.... you know, like drinking coffee!! Post scripture all over your house so you can read it even if you don't have time to sit down... Play it out loud on your phone while you are fixing breakfast... Have one of your kids read it out loud in the car... Be creative... Make reading God's word a part of your every day life... Make it matter!!)
Ladies, the truth is, we can't do it all. Let me say that again.... WE CANT DO IT ALL!!!!
It is not humanly possible.... If it was, we wouldn't need God. And he wants to be needed. He created us that way. To need Him. To not be able to do this life without Him. Sometimes, at the end of the day, if all you can say is "no one died", then you accomplished all you were suppose to accomplish that day.
Stop trying to measure up and just LIVE. Stop thinking about all the things you haven't done and concentrate on the things you are doing. Stop living for the next moment, the next list, and live in the moment.... Jesus told us not to even think about tomorrow (Matthew 6).... He knew what doing this would bring on us... more worry. And if we are focused on the next thing, then we are missing the VERY THING HE IS SHOWING US RIGHT NOW!! Each moment has something beautiful in it. There is joy in each day. We just have to be purposeful to look for it, not past it.
When you wake up in the morning, breathe. DEEP. Soak it in. Soak in the fact that you have awaken to another day in God's glorious creation and your salvation is still as real for you today as it was yesterday. Lay there for a minute and just bask in the goodness of a God who loved you so much He sent His son to die in your place. Soak it in... Even if there are kids screaming or babies crying or a husband demanding (because sometimes that's what we all wake up too).... even if for only a minute.... SOAK. IT. IN.... Let that be what you start you day out with.... The TRUTH! Thank Him for another day to glorify Him and then tell yourself "You will not measure up to the lie today, but you will measure up to the truth... which is that Jesus, yeah, He died for me, and that is enough to get me through this day...."
Then take your day one crazy, tragic, soap opera moment at a time. Whatever that looks like for you, dive into it fulling knowing that whatever you get done, will be enough. It will have to be. Because it is all you have.
One thing we have to remember is that God ordained our steps for us. He has us exactly where He wants us for His glory and His purpose. So whatever that looks like for you, stop, and think about it, think about where you are right now and how God, in his righteousness, is going to work it out for good because that is His promise. (Romans 8:28)
These days are for glorifying God in everything. In every moment. (I Cor 10:31, Colossians 3:17) Do not waste them worrying about what you AREN'T doing or CAN'T do or what someone else, you are certain, is doing better and more efficient. Focus on what you are doing. Focus on the joy He has given you for today.
And always remember....
Comparison is the thief of Joy!!
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