Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Blogland Blues

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
~Psalm 134:14

Blogland can be a dangerous place.

Does that statement surprise you? It shouldn't. You see, Blogland is full of blogs by other people. Some of those people portrait themselves to be perfect, and give you instructions so that you can be perfect just like them. Other bloggers admit that they have faults, but have great ideas about how to improve themselves, and they invite you along on their journeys. Yet still other bloggers are just plain real - they own up to who they are, and if you don't like it, then you are not required to read their blog. There are bloggers that are super house cleaners and great cooks. Bloggers that are over involved in ministry, bloggers who homeschool their kids, or do nothing but spend their day coming up with fun games to play and learn with their little ones. Their are bloggers who have infants, bloggers who have teenagers, and bloggers who are grandmothers. There are bloggers who live in Germany, Africa, and America. The bottom line is that bloggers come in all different shapes and sizes.

Why does that make Blogland dangerous? Simply because you are not another blogger. All of those blogs can be fun to read, encouraging, challenging, or hold some other form of motivation for you, but the danger comes when we start to compare ourselves to another blogger. When we start to realize that we can never be just like them. That we fall short of being the wife, mother, hostess, servant, Christian, that they are.

 As I was contemplating on all of the above information today, it just resonated within me that God didn't create me to be just like anyone else. He made me to be His creation. The only person that I should try to imitate is Christ. I shouldn't try to be just like so and so over a her blog, because that's who God created her to be, not me. Sure, her husband might be thrilled that she is such a wonderful wife and homemaker, but I'm not married to him. My husband loves me for me. He married me, not her. My kids wouldn't know what to do if so and so over at such and such of blog took my place. They don't love her, they love me - faults and all.

God creates each of us to be the person that He wants us to be, and our lives are formed around that. Sure, we get stressed out some times, we long to be better at certain things, and that's okay. God is working on us. Maybe someday we will be a better gardener than the lady whose blog inspires us so much. If that happens, it will happen in God's timing, but for now, we are right where He wants us to be, to learn the lessons that we need to learn, to continue to grow into the person that He wants us to be. We might never have a house that looks like so and so's, or children that spout off Scripture like that other blogger does. And that's okay.

Instead of trying to be another blogger, we need - I need - to strive to be more like Christ, and Christ alone.

What about you?

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 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

~Colossians 2:6-12

5 comments:

  1. Thank you! Those words were wonderful and exactly what I needed to hear today. I love reading your posts. They are always so encouraging.

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  2. Thanks, Katherine! I need to remind myself of this often.

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  3. I know exactly what you mean! Thanks for the reminder and encouragement.

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  4. I was totally thinking along those lines just the other day. It's so easy to start comparing ourselves to others but we are all unique and truth be told, FAR from perfect. LOL!
    Wonderful post Heather.
    Have a lovely day.
    Kim

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  5. Heather, thank you for being obedient. These past few months of slow posts have been because of feelings like this. It took a while to realize that comparison is the thief of joy (at least in blogland context). We all have gifts and talents that vary. God made each of us for a specific purpose but I know I've been guilty of trying copy/mimic someone else's purpose. It's so easy to not realize you're doing it too, unless you are focused on the one thing you mentioned--following the example set for us by our Savior. When we do that, it's much easier to stay on track, isn't it? Thanks for this post.

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