My guest today in our "Comparing Ourselves to Others...and what it does to us" series is Amy Hunt. Amy and I "met" through Holley Gerth's God-sized Dream Team, and have been getting to know each other better over the past months. Amy's desire to live life As. It. Is. is inspiring to me - not trying to live as someone else, but just as ourselves - who God made us to be. Please make some time to visit Amy on her blog at A Rock for Him, and please welcome her here by leaving a comment ~ Laura
I picture a
horse with side blinders on and wish I could have that kind of limited view. It
can be too distracting to see around me—too suffocating and too depressing.
Some people
are quicker on their feet, a skill I haven’t (yet) developed; for some this is
a true gift. Others do cute crafty things, and do what they can to make life
fun for their kids. And then there are those who seem to have the green light
to pursue things that ache in their heart.
I’d be the
one to not fit underneath even one of these categories if you lined four of us
up. I’d stick out and be told: Don’t
worry, you’re normal. What I’d hear is: You’re
average . . . in academics, in looks, in athletics, in shoes and clothes .
. .
I wasn’t
born to a dignitary and nor will I (likely) inherit lots of wealth. I haven’t
accomplished what so many others have, or even served in amazing places and
ways. Honestly, I don’t even give remarkably much more than my blood.
Average has
defined me because of how I (and they)
have defined You.
I thought
there was nothing particularly special about me. I thought that I just blend
in. And I thought that if I hid no one would notice and nothing would be missed.
Truth
always wins out. And it’s bigger than we can ever be.
So when I
was called to come out of all my
cave hiding
and
Me
avoiding, I realized that I am noticed. I’m not needed, per say; God can
do so much more without me. I am wanted and purposed, and that’s no small
thing.
You’re special because you are one of a kind. That’s truth,
not just a cute thing to say. It’s not because you measure up in some way or that
you’re better than they.
You’re important simply because you exist.
We base our thoughts and our feelings on comparison,
constantly pining for a benchmark other than letting our heart have its own
voice.
I wish we all would believe our very selves and lose the could’ve
and would’ve kind of living, and the if
only we were . . . kind of mourning.
Comparing my
life with others has squelched dreams and most of all: Hope. I’ve let what you (and others) think, define
what I think. (And most of the time I haven’t known for sure what you really
even think.)
Energy has
drained out of me as I’ve watched you being you and stepped up to my days as
someone I’m not. I’ve told myself my dreams don’t matter and put a thumbtack in
even caring about what I think.
The desire
my heart has most is for us all to just Be – As. We. Are . . . to accept our
life as it is . . . to live our passions versus dismiss
them.
I picture ourselves as a living magazine willing to be boldly
splayed on the front cover, the beauty that we are.
I picture
our uniqueness being what we treasure, and our focus being flip-flopped from
comparing to something a little bit more caring.
It’s
worship to live this way—to honor our true and Real selves.
We bring God
an offering when we live as we are. He gifts us with another day and we gift
Him by unwrapping it and receiving it
with our full selves.
What excites
me isn’t what excites you. I’m so glad for what I see from my uniquely created
perspective. When I fail to embrace me, I’m neglecting the joy that was created
specifically for me.
Your
joy isn’t my joy and my joy isn’t yours, and that’s a Holy designed thing.
The Enemy
tries to steal, kill, and destroy . . . and when we compare, we do the very
same thing as he. We think we deserve
different or most of all, should be
different, when really . . . we were created with a deliberateness that we are
dared to discover.
So let’s
each get back to our own thing. Let’s wholeheartedly live our very own story
and not even kind of compare . . . we waste time when we do that, when we could
have been waking to grace.
Let’s just Be. As we are.
this is our worship.
*****
A God-sized dreamy-ideas girl, Amy is passionate
about seeing and declaring Real worship
lived out. She lives in Central New York with her groom and their Boy-Man who
are known to make her belly laugh most days. An early-morning riser, Amy is a
sky-adorer and runs hills mostly just for the view.
As a mess constantly in
need of grace, Amy trusts
all is purposed
and all is grace, as she is learning to pursue hope in spite of the
risk. Follow Amy on
Twitter.
