I want what She’s got!

But you are not her and she is not you.

Women are awesome. As I get older – I realize more and more how truly incredible females are: they are beautiful in appearance, tender in nature and strong in character.

Yet, this is still not enough.

We live in a day and an age where another woman is the competition. If she’s pretty, she’s wearing too much make-up, if she’s sweet, she’s probably fake and if she has a good-looking man on her arm, well then quite frankly she must be sleeping with him. WHAT IS WRONG WITH US?! Well the answer is actually a lot simpler than I am sure we would like to acknowledge:

Comparison has become the thief of our joy.

 When we are not comfortable in our own skin – we take this very common insecurity out on other people. It has been said commonly – “the eyes that you view yourself with, are the same eyes that you will view others with.” This might not be true in your life, but it sure has been in mine. There have been countless times I have woken up, looked in the mirror and not liked what I saw, so to cure this I would spend the rest of the day finding reasons others may look worse – just to make myself feel better.

Many times, we look at the lives others lead and our own inadequacy flashes in our faces to a point where we find ourselves wanting what they have. We are quick to forget that things are not always as sunny as they may seem and every woman has struggles to work through and obstacles to overcome.

The point is – she is not you, and you are not her.

God has given you unlimited potential to do GREAT things – things that He has created YOU to do. There are gifts, talents and abilities that are on the inside of you and are unique to you. Whether you choose to acknowledge it or not, there is a generation crying out for what you’ve got (seems unthinkable right?) – crying out for what God has put on the inside of you to serve to the world. Are you going to rob the world of what you have because you are so stuck comparing yourself with others instead of taking what God has put on the inside of you and working on changing a generation?

(Side note: I want you to know as you read this that I am being very careful about writing this – these words are not out of a place of judgment but out of being in the same boat. The struggle really is real and nobody is alone in it.)

Maybe its time we stop seeing other women as the competition and instead see them as the joint force they are – a mighty sisterhood that has the ability to advance the Kingdom of God here on earth with their unique and wonderful talents. May we become women who praise others instead of tearing them down, be hospitable instead of cold and supportive instead of threatened.

To deny your own magnificence is to deny that the Creator of your very breath did a “good enough” job.

It is much easier said than done – but we can be so much more effective in life if we just choose to focus on the job God has given us to do instead of criticizing and gossiping about the job He’s given someone else. Actually, I have learned that you don’t want the job He has given someone else because He has given them the grace to do it and not me. I would then just be a hindrance to something wonderful. We can go through life constantly comparing ourselves to others – but when we one day stand before the Lord, He is not going to ask us about what someone else did, but about what we did.

“Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.” (Galatians 6:4 NLT).

I praise God for His mercy on my life and His Word that leads me. I am not perfect and I think this is an area that will always be tough for us as women. But I pray that we will become women who make our Father proud by living our lives to bring Him glory in who He has made US to be. You are unique, you are wonderful, you are beautiful, you are fearless and you are exactly who God has made you to be.