For years I compared myself to another woman - the wife of my husband's best friend from school days. She was beautiful, thin, talented, accomplished, warm, hospitable, generous, friendly, her home was always immaculate, her garden always well-tended, her children polite and well-mannered, and there was always home-baking in her cookie jars and cake tins. I admired this woman - greatly - and secretly tried to copy her. To me she was my ideal of the perfect Christian woman, wife and mother. I could never imagine her raising her voice at her husband or children (I still can't).
I knew that trying to be someone else was not right. God has made me the way I am for a reason. I may not understand how or why, but somehow me, with all my faults and imperfections, am the right person to be a wife to my husband and a mother to the five wonderful sons we have been blessed with. If I try to model myself on anyone it should be on Jesus Christ.
Yesterday this lovely woman and her husband visited. It has been three years since we last saw them and we had a wonderful time catching up on all the news.
Naturally I'd run around like a chook with its head cut off before they came, making sure the house was clean and there was fresh baking (not an easy task since we didn't get out power back on until lunch time). Although I did make a conscious decision not to get upset over The Most Adorable Granddaughter's toys strewed all over the living room (I was looking after her while her daddy restored our power).
It wasn't until our guests had left that I realised something. I hadn't once compared myself to this woman. I'd enjoyed her company but I hadn't been wishing I were more like her.
Perhaps I'm growing after all.
I knew that trying to be someone else was not right. God has made me the way I am for a reason. I may not understand how or why, but somehow me, with all my faults and imperfections, am the right person to be a wife to my husband and a mother to the five wonderful sons we have been blessed with. If I try to model myself on anyone it should be on Jesus Christ.
Yesterday this lovely woman and her husband visited. It has been three years since we last saw them and we had a wonderful time catching up on all the news.
Naturally I'd run around like a chook with its head cut off before they came, making sure the house was clean and there was fresh baking (not an easy task since we didn't get out power back on until lunch time). Although I did make a conscious decision not to get upset over The Most Adorable Granddaughter's toys strewed all over the living room (I was looking after her while her daddy restored our power).
It wasn't until our guests had left that I realised something. I hadn't once compared myself to this woman. I'd enjoyed her company but I hadn't been wishing I were more like her.
Perhaps I'm growing after all.
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