The other day I heard of a family preparing to adopt again – just one short year after bringing home their first child. God is writing a pretty amazing story for them, yet Satan used the good news to make me feel like dirt.
They were ready to bring home another child? John and I thought we would start the process again when Jackson turned a year old, but we feel like we’ve just recovered from the long, sleepless nights of colic-induced screams. And now we are facing sleepless nights of temper tantrums. There are days when I question if I have the energy and strength to adopt a newborn again. The thought of having another baby with colic sometimes leaves me thinking that one child is good enough for me.
After hearing the news and thinking these thoughts, I felt like the worst mother ever! I asked God what was wrong with us that we didn’t think we could handle another child yet. What started off as a great day, quickly turned into a depressing, beat-myself-up, kind of day. Satan was having a blast!
Compare yourself to others and you’re sure to feel like poop!
Because someone is always going to have a bigger house, more friends, be a better mother, etc. etc. There will always be people who make you feel inferior – like you aren’t as Godly of a person if you only adopt one child instead of say three or four.
But even more important is the fact that God’s plan for each of us is unique and different. Just because John and I feel like we aren’t ready to add to our family, doesn’t mean we’ll never be. God could change our heart in the blink of an eye. The one thing I’ve learned is that His ways are not always my ways. I also know that I can’t let comparison steal my joy.
When we compare ourselves to others and what God is doing in their lives, we aren’t focusing on what God wants us to do in our own lives. It’s not wise to compare ourselves to others, because when we do, it becomes a threat to our own walk with God.
We quickly forget all that God has done for us when we start to compare. I heard about the incredible way God is growing this couple’s family and became envious. I wanted God to write a story like that for us.
But wait….He already did.
Our adoption story is one that only God could have written. How many people think they’re going to adopt from Ethiopia, accept a job at the local homeless shelter, and meet the birth mother of their future son? Only God.
Comparison is a trap. The devil wants you to get snared, but God wants you to live free from the comparison game.
The Bible says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
Do you compare yourself to others? In what area does Satan like to try and trap you when it comes to the comparison game?
thanks for this, jennifer — really needed it.
blessings,
tanya (a bloggy friend of jamie harper, brown paper & strings)
I love your blog posts! Thanks for sharing, I really needed this today!