Trade Offs

I have to admit, when I started the first list on the Gratitude Challenge, I wrote "the ability to have children," and immediately thought of who might read this list and how it might make them sad, so I took it off. As I continued my list, I wondered as I wrote my list how many people's feelings I would hurt. Isn't that sad? I hesitate to count my blessings because of worry of how others will perceive them? I'm thinking this comparison thing is human nature, but that doesn't mean it's right.

image: akirathedon.com

I am grateful for these things, but I also find that these are MY things to be grateful for. These are the things that make MY life rich. We should NEVER compare our blessings with those of others. We each have our own package. If we didn't, we'd all be the same person--BORING!

image: lamistymoon.blogspot.com

This pondering this morning has just made me very aware that we're all sent here with our own package of gifts, blessings, challenges and trials. These things form us each into who we are. When we look at another's package and are jealous or resentful, we're denying what makes us us--individuals. 

Others' lives may look so perfect, but they're not. That's just not how life is.

image: http://mste.illinois.edu

It was interesting. I have a friend who is truly gifted in a very interesting way. I love watching her in action. She can put things together flawlessly. She doesn't miss a single thing. Every "i" is dotted and every "t" is crossed. She's truly amazing! Another friend brought to my attention that those who have strong gifts in one area, which honestly, I believe we all do, lack in other areas equally. I got to thinking about this and realized that this same amazing friend has real struggles when it comes to personal interactions. There's a trade off.

image: inmagine.com

We all have these trade offs in our lives. We all have reasons to be admired and reasons to be pitied. We just need to cheer for each others' successes and be ready to help and lift with each others' weaknesses. That's why we have what we do--to share and to bless the lives of others. That's the point of life. If we sit around comparing and feeling sorry for ourselves (in comparing, you always come up the loser), we're missing the point.