Today, I just feel like I’m just not enough. It’s a familiar feeling. I’m always so busy looking at the other side of my fence, wishing I had that grass. I see the perfectly manicured lawn of another. My own life seems imperfect, messy and just plain ackward in comparison.
A thought occurs to me as I gaze across the way. I may see that perfect lawn, but I don’t know what goes on in that house. I don’t know anything about their life. Even if they are a close friend, I can’t see inside their heart. If I want what someone else has, would I be willing to take all of what they have? Would I be prepared to deal with their past, their present ,and their future? Could I hold their secrets, their burdens, their temptations, and their failures as well as their successes in my heart? Would I be willing to let go of everything I have?
Looking at social media is a lot like looking at a perfectly manicured lawn. It’s an illlusion. It’s what I present myself to be, but it’s not me. There is so much more to me than pictures and words on a computer screen. It’s a great place to have chats with friends and I enjoy looking at posts. It’s also a great place to compare myself to others. It can be the perfect climate to cultivate loneliness and that “less than” feeling. Is that really what I want growing in my yard? Social media has it’s place. So do I.
I have a place because God is making a place for me.
I have a place because God made a place for me when he formed me in the womb.
I have a place because Jesus took my place.
I stop gazing across that fence.
I put down the computer.
I drop the comparisons.
I look in front of me.
I see what I already have.
It makes me drop to my knees in praise.
It fills my heart with gratefulness.
It restores my joy.
My hope is renewed.
I know what I hold.
How could I so easily forget?
My family.
My friends.
This love.
This life.
Love has saved me.
Love flows through me.
Love surrounds me.
My lawn is suddenly a brilliant green. All I want to do is play in it, to dance, dwell in it, and to soak in it’s beauty. I can no longer see the fence that separates me from others. I want them to join in this celebration of life, too. I want what once was a pity party, to become a block party. I want to knock the fences that separate and compare down and let the fabulous love of God flood us all! I want to drink up His love on this hot summer day and pass on a cold cup of his love to someone suffering in the “heat” of this life. I want them to join me in being quenched by the water of His bottomless love.
So my friends, who’s ready for a block party? Woot! Woot!
Let’s celebrate all we have today and just let tomorrow handle itself.