Pocket Full of Posies

Let's get real about the thief of joy, Comparison.

Don't cover up those feelings ma'am. Release it to God.

Comparison is the Thief of Joy.

The Plague

I have lived at the mercy of comparison for far more than I'd like to admit. My friends past and present have all taught me how to treat everyone as an individual and why you shouldn't go and compare yourself to people. But of course, this is hindsight. Can I toot some horns for a moment? Even if we are no longer friends... I have known some amazingly talented and beautiful people. My guy friends are so tech-savvy and creative GIANTS all TWO OF THEM! My girlfriends are all so intuitive, creative, deep, and purely amazing.

When you're surrounded by greatness is hard not to go off and compare yourself. To believe you don't measure up. I Believe comparison is a nasty little thing because it blinds you. It creates feelings of jealousy and inadequacy which makes you feed into those unchecked insecurities. It allows space for you to forget the fact that these people you admire and love are still human. That they make mistakes. I had this romantic idea that my friends had something I didn't. That it was so easy for them to cultivate their gifts and talents and float around a room and we were able to do all the things I wanted to effortlessly... That all the things they were doing came naturally. How invalidating is that? We go through so many trials in our life to build endurance and hopefully learn from lessons we don't have to repeat. But the comparison doesn't tell you that.

The Cure.

This little fox tells you that you aren't trying enough, and if they can seemingly accomplish all these things then there's something wrong with you. You are the one who is inadequate. It wants you to brood about it. To bring yourself to your knees and maybe even envy those same people you should be loving and encouraging because how else is it supposed to steal the opportunity for you to grow with the community you've been blessed with? How else is it supposed to get you to feed that part of you who's insecure and hasn't learned that good things take time? That you do truly love these people first! That side of you hasn't learned that perfectionism is destructive and it prevents you from seeing yourself for who God created you to be. So no, the comparison doesn't tell you these things because then you'll have to enjoy the journey of becoming who you are. Allowing yourself to be persuaded by this feeling can cost you a whole lot of time. Time is very, VERY precious. You are a limited resource with a limited amount of time to get to and complete your purpose. When you compare yourself you focus on what makes someone else great and miss what God wants to show you what makes YOU great. Plus, these people are there to be a reflection of what is inside of you! You know you love them and they love you too! Especially when you know that the people that surround you now are genuine. They aren't lying to make you feel better!

Galatians 6:4-5

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 for we are each responsible for our own conduct.

You are a limited resource baby. Realize that God has a lot of work for YOU to do. I want you to go tell yourself you're an amazing person all on your own! Ask God if you don't believe me, so he can tell you! And if you're not an amazing person? God has grace for that and he will cultivate you into something new. At first, I was going to write the blog post in the typical way we describe comparison. But I knew how my heart was in this season of my life. I don't know if you have caught a theme here. But insecurity and being blind to how God sees you breed so much sorrow. Don't fall into that trap! Now that I am free of this little fox- my celebration of my friend's successes is unrestricted!!! Even when I use to compare myself I would run around because of my friends' victories! Now I knock stuff over and throw a party in my room! It's like I won! I won the lottery with these people! I enjoy all of them in my life, and I will not have anything stop me from enjoying their success and ENJOYING MINE too. There's no room for comparison here. JUST LOVE.

God Bless,

Troysha Gigggans