Okay, let's be honest. Something awful can take place during the holidays that is a complete joy stealer. Comparison. Yes that word we hear all the time right now... but man did I have to fight it like a bad habit this year. Every time it would show it's ugly face I felt like a total addict to something I couldn't break! Why does this keep coming up? Why can't I beat this? But I think it's something I will have to fight for years to come. I do have to say I've seen major growth in my heart in this area. Much more celebration than competition with others.
But let's talk about what happens on the holidays, because I had a few real-live conversations about this with people who admitted they dealt with it... which of course raised the "YESSS, I'M NOT ALONE!!!" feeling in my heart. The "I'm not crazy, so maybe I should write it on the wall so others can have that little piece of freedom."
So the holidays, can become a "daze" when we scroll through our feeds and then start to think what we're doing isn't enough. Our tree doesn't look like that, our table is definitely not that matchy-matchy, our family is not that put together, they look like they're having so much fun.... or we have too many parties to attend we don't have "us" time, we don't have any family here-- it's just us.
See what he did there, either way you slice it-- it doesn't measure up. The thief of your joy can manipulate your circumstances to always seem like they're not enough, you are not enough.
That's what my friend and I ended up saying, she told me she was jealous that my pictures looked like we were having so much fun with just us... and I in turn confessed that the entire holiday I was thinking about how we have no family parties to attend, no family dinners, nothing like what my friends had. My immediate response to her what just a total STOP IT moment. Wow-- how our hearts can deceive and mislead us. Not only does he want to steal our joy, but to destroy our very minds and perspectives on the blessings we each have.
What's awesome is on Christmas Eve I came across this statement on my feed,
"Stop letting the worry of what isn't happening in your life, ruin what is happening." Carl Lentz
That nugget of truth really guided me out of moments of pity and into total gratitude and soaking up every blessing. It also reminded me of this I saw on my feed before:
See our "feeds" can actually feed us truth, so be careful who you follow. (Gosh, that sounds like another day...)
So I hope that as we wrap up this holiday season-- Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years-- you are able to seal your memories in your heart and mind as good enough. They are your life, your loved ones, your traditions and they are just enough for you. Probably more than enough-- that's how I feel. So let's take the "daze" of comparison out of our holidays.
"This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24 NLT
Labels: change, choose life, Christmas, comparison, feelings, I'm not perfect, life, life-changing
