Dear Thief...a letter of ADMIRATION.

Dear Thief,

A tranquil heart is the life of the flesh; But envy is the rottenness of the bones. Proverbs 14:30

Comparison is the thief of joy.  

Yet, everyday I wake up and think to myself, if only I was as skinny as her, or as smart as him. If only I were more funny like him, or pretty like that girl. And I walk through my day letting comparison be the thief. Jealousy starts stealing my happiness. Envy begins to destroy my bliss. Sin starts to break into my being. My desire to be as gifted, fabulous, beautiful, or loved as someone else slowly starts to suck out the life God created within me. 

The truth is, I know I should not compare myself. I know God created us each to be perfectly who He intended. I know each of our journeys are uniquely our walk with Him. Yet, my mind keeps telling me, if only. And my heart keeps longing for that adventure or journey someone else is on. And my eyes keep seeing that someone else has more; more beauty, more money, more excitement in their life.  Everything starts adding up and I start to question am I enough? I start to think, should my journey be something more? I begin to degrade myself based on one thing; how my life looks in comparison to others. And the truth is, that life in comparison is a life empty of joy. 

The other day, I read an African folk tale to my class. The story was simple and chronicled a father spider and his six sons. Each of these sons had a fitting name, and as I read the book aloud I asked my kids to reenact the names of the spiders. "See Trouble", "River Drinker", and "Stone Thrower" just to name a few. As the kids acted out each of these names, it was clear that each spider was very different. The tale unfolds as each spider uses what they are known for, seeing trouble or drinking water, to save their father who has been caught up in some trouble. Together, the six spiders save their father and at the end of the book he wants to reward the son who helped him the most with a golden globe of light. 

But that's where the problem lies; the father, my four and five year olds, even I myself could not decide who deserved the golden light. There was no obvious choice as to the one who had done the most, or worked the hardest, and been the best at saving their father. All the spider sons had distinct gifts that helped them save their father, but not one spider could do it alone! Each spider was needed to get their father out of trouble, each spider just the way they were.

It might seem to be that cliche you have heard a million times before, but our Father needs each of us just the way we are. We cannot all be the same and we were not meant to be that way! We cannot all walk the same journey. We cannot all have the same figure, or wit, or genius. We cannot all want the same things, or do the same things, or learn the same things at the same moments in our lives. God specifically made us as we are, on the journey we are on, for a purpose. And just like the spiders, He needs a collaboration of all of us to save the day and bring His kingdom to life here! 

So how do we stop letting comparison kill our joy? Stop. Stop comparing, and start appreciating. Start appreciating the fact that God gave you the people He has brought into your life and appreciate the good He has created in them. Instead of being jealous, thank God for allowing you to witness His beauty in that girl's flawless singing voice or His grace filled love in that guy's perfect ability to procrastinate and still make the grade. How different does the world look when we stop seeing what we are not, and start seeing who God is? 

That girl who has the perfect boyfriend, appreciate God's goodness in bringing them together. That guy who landed his dream job right out of college, recognize God's plan for him fully alive. Life is not about who gets what, when, and where. Life is about joy. Life is about discovering who God is and watching Him prove His faithfulness over and over again. Even if that means watching Him prove His glory in someone else's life. 

We are so easily able to take God's goodness for granted. We see the glass half empty. We look through the world with eyes clouded by our selfishness. We look at what God is and is not doing for us. But imagine how your view might change when you stop counting how much God is doing for you...and simply learn to appreciate what God is doing. 

The sons were able to save the life of their father, because they all had unique gifts and unique roles in the greater story. If one spider had tried to do the whole thing or if one spider failed to do his part, the life of the father would be placed in jeopardy. The same is true for each of us, God needs all of us, on our unique journey, walking the path towards Him and using our gifts to keep Him alive in a world that is doing it's best to do otherwise. 

The African folk tale ends with the father spider giving the globe of light to the god to place in the sky. He could not decide who was the most worthy of it. He could not see one more important or valuable than the other. And so, he allowed them to share it. That globe of light became the moon. The moon that shines outside my window this very moment. The moon that looks the same in Africa, America, and all around the world. The moon we all share today! No one was more worthy of the gift of the moon than the other. No person is more worthy of God's love and mercy, than the next. We were all created to know it, to see it, to appreciate it, just like we see the moon. 

So next time, you feel comparison starting to kill your joy, stop and consider how life might be different if we all saw one another like the people we are, worthy of the call of Christ, children of His light, and people all gifted uniquely under one moon and one God! 

Love and prayers, 

Danielle