I was teasing a friend of mine this morning about her having to get up earlier than usual to get her son to church to serve on the technology team. It was all in good fun. It then became a comparison with another friend of mine who is a Pastor in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. When he went home on Saturday, all was good. And then the volcano erupted.
Fortunately for Pascal, his home was not affected. But a number of people in his church were impacted. He had at least 10 families who contacted him who were searching for their children that got separated from the families in the chaos of fear and fleeing the approaching lava flows. Others lost homes and the crops they had planted that would provide the food and money to survive the coming year.
Sometimes it is important to get some perspective on our life. To look at those around us and realize everyone has a life and a story they are struggling to live out. And to sometimes realize that, in comparison, things are not so bad.
And yet…we can only live our life. We can only live out our own story. And part of that is acknowledging when things are difficult. When we face things that are hard for us, overwhelming for us it is important to acknowledge these things. We can be grateful we aren’t living others stories and still be truthful with our story. Resilience does not come from hiding from or covering over the hard things we experience with a mindful practice of gratitude.
The Bible tells us to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. I appreciate the honesty and authenticity of the wisdom.
Your hard is hard. Period. Own it. Name it. It’s more than OK to do so, it is essential. It won’t always be hard like this. But the only way to a different time and place is through it, not around it.
What have you been covering up or denying by minimizing through comparison with others?
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