A couple of years ago I gave a lesson to a group of women at church in which I talked about how awesome each daughter of God is. I can't forget the impression of the truth of what we discussed. Oh, if we could only see ourselves through His eyes! We would know that we are loved for who we are right now, and that our potential is limitless! If we women truly understood this principle, I think we would stop comparing ourselves to each other.
There is plenty of awesome in the world. Just because one woman is awesome at gardening doesn't mean that you can't be an awesome gardener too, if you want to be. It's not a matter of some get all the awesome and some don't get any. No! We each have awesome gifts. And if gardening is not one of them (raising my hand) that is 100% fine... we can admire the beautiful roses of our neighbor and maybe be the lucky recipient of cucumbers and tomatoes from the friend down the street. Don't let someone's strengths remind you of your weaknesses. Enjoy the gifts and talents of others. Learn from them. Be inspired. Encourage others in their happy successes!
And let yourself be encouraged in the wonderful things you do! Think about how you can share your talents with others and get busy doing it.
The truth is that each person has both strengths and weaknesses. That's the way God made us. We can help each other. Recognizing our own weakness (now, I said recognizing... NOT beating ourselves up over it) is actually a great reminder that we are not expected to travel this road of life alone. We need our Savior, family, friends, and kind strangers.
I recommend reading the article Less Comparison, More Self-confidence by Edie Wadsworth of Life in Grace blog. Her words perfectly describe the loss that is felt when we judge ourselves as being inferior to another. She says, "...comparing ourselves to others doesn’t just steal our joy, it robs those around us of the rare gift of a woman who has learned to give her uniqueness to the world."
Invitation: Give a sincere compliment to that person who you have (previously) envied, and graciously receive the next compliment you are given.
Continue to Day 25, Thankful... get your kids talking.
For the introduction and list of daily topics for my project, 31 Days of Positive Thinking, go here.
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