Have you ever known someone who seemed to have it all together? And her life seemed perfect, and she did all the right things, her life was this amazing example, and you didn’t even come close to measuring up.  I’m sure we all at one time or another have known someone like this or compared ourselves to someone that we idolized.   Sometimes, depending on whether or not we really get to know that person, the external mask comes off a little and you realize that she is human too and has faults like the rest of us.

I recently fell into this trap of comparing myself to someone and as a result began feeling like a failure.  This wonderfully talented lady seemed to be perfect in my eyes and always seemed to have it all together when I felt the opposite is true for me.  Comparing myself to someone I hold in high esteem causes me to feel more irritable and easily frustrated with myself.  This in turn spills over into me not being as patient with my family or unhappy with my life.  

Interestingly, there is a reason a person begins comparing herself to others.  It is usually when they are feeling bad about themselves and what they aren’t accomplishing, looking like, doing, and the list can go on for miles.  The dangerous thing about comparisons is that most of them are unrealistic.  As hard as we are on ourselves, who needs enemies?

The human experience was designed by God to teach us to learn to cope with imperfections and trials.  No one is perfect.  However, it isn’t fair to put ourselves through such hardship because we think someone else is better.  My favorite quote is, “If all of our problems were hung on a line, you’d take yours and I’d take mine.”  The next time you start to compare yourself to someone remind yourself that no one is perfectly even though we feel they appear that way.  Each one of us has something wonderful to offer. We’re each blessed with different gifts, abilities, and talents.

I’m so thankful for Elaine Jack’s words, “No greater heroine lives in today’s world than the woman who is quietly doing her part. Generally unsung, you live everywhere—you live in Nebraska or Puerto Rico or Ghana or Canada or Czechoslovakia. You show your love for the Lord daily as you support husbands, nurture children, care for parents, benefit neighbors, serve in your schools, sit on community councils, and do much of the work of this world in and out of the home. No one is more impressive than you.”

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