Reason #682
I had my first Christmas event tonight. I stood in the kitchen whipping up a batch of puppy chow (AKA the best Christmas snack there ever was), and I had a flashback. I remembered the last time I stood in my kitchen making puppy chow. It was two years ago. A night that changed my life, and it's funny how I can look back now and see it for what it is. It was the night God answered my prayers, a blessing in disguise.
I remembered getting Christmas cards in the mail from my friends that year, most of them addressed to Brittnye. No last name, just Brittnye. I would open each envelope and find smiling little faces staring back at me. The bottom was graced with some little Christmas wish followed by 'Love, The So and So's.' And as I pulled out each card, it was almost like a punch in the stomach. A little reminder that I was not sending out family Christmas cards that year. A little reminder that I was, in fact, at home making puppy chow...by myself...for my co-workers. A harsh reminder. How dare I receive a "hope you have a merry Christmas" note when it was no secret that my Christmas was going to be far from merry. And so I found myself wishing to have what they had. Wishing to have a growing little family, not one that had just been dismantled. Wishing I could send out little holiday cheer cards, too. Wishing that my life was different. Wishing that I could have their blessings. And although I was grateful I was selected to be on their mailing list, I almost wished I would have been overlooked for my own heart's sake.
It's hard not to be jealous, especially when life isn't cooperating with your plans. It's really hard not to even get mad about it. And isn't it funny that we find ourselves either disliking or getting mad at the people who happen to have what we want? It's as if they are rubbing it in our face, when really, they're just living their lives. But we see rings on their fingers, babies in their bellies, new homes, promotions, fit bodies, perfect hair, flawless skin, and we want that. One of my co-workers told me that he can give all 3 of his kids the exact same toy and yet they will still want the toy the other one has. I suppose we never really grow out of that do we? And so I found myself, that Christmas, not being thankful for where God had me that year. I found myself wanting what other people had, when in reality, God was working on bringing that exact thing to me.
Maybe you're like me. Maybe you look at her, you know who I am talking about, and although you like her, you kind of don't. Because she's where you want to be. She has all the things you want for yourself. She keep receiving blessing after blessing while you keep waiting and waiting. And you find yourself focusing so much more on what your life is missing at that time rather than what all life is offering you at that time. You find yourself green with envy, even though you know it's wrong, and all you can think about is how to get there - where she is. How to have what she has, look the way she looks, achieve what she has achieved, and you have forgotten that God has a different story written out for you that He does for her.
Rule # 10 - you must not covet. Early on, God tells them to not even go there. Don't want what other people have. Don't be jealous of things God has given them, wishing they were yours. Because when we do that, our hearts become ungrateful. We basically tell God that what He has given us, and what He has done for us, isn't good enough. We are telling Him that we don't appreciate the blessings He has poured out on us. Throwing the good things He has specifically and intentionally given us right back in His face and demanding more, something else, because we don't want those blessings, we want theirs. But no matter what stage of life you're in, when you walk through it with God, it's full of blessings. You just don't see them because you're too busy looking where you want to be rather than where you are.
God blesses His children, every single one of them. God's blessings are not generic, and we don't all receive the same ones. But God will pour down goodness on us no matter what we're going through. Because the blessing of hardship is the refining of your faith. The blessing of brokenness is the healing process. The blessing of heartache is the comfort He brings. And the blessing of the valley is that He walks with you through it. And so maybe someone else has what you want, but don't worry about it. God is doing things in your life, just as He is in theirs, and so anticipate what's to come. Don't worry about when it will, just be grateful that God has a good plan in store. Be grateful for what He is currently doing, even if it's not what you had in mind. Because there will come day when you look back and you'll see it. You'll see why things went the way they did, and you'll want to be sure that you don't miss out on the blessings of that time because you were too busy looking elsewhere to receive them.
Don't want their blessings but be grateful for yours. Don't want what they have, rather, be grateful for what you have. Because a jealous heart misses out on a lot of sweet blessings in life, but a grateful heart is always open to receive them. God is never limited to how and when He pours out His blessings on you, so just wait it out and be grateful for the fact that they are coming.
#682 - Because He always gives us things to be thankful for and blesses us in every stage of life.
"Even if the forest should be destroyed and the city torn down, the Lord will greatly bless his people. Wherever they plant seed, bountiful crops will spring up." - Isaiah 32:19-20
I remembered getting Christmas cards in the mail from my friends that year, most of them addressed to Brittnye. No last name, just Brittnye. I would open each envelope and find smiling little faces staring back at me. The bottom was graced with some little Christmas wish followed by 'Love, The So and So's.' And as I pulled out each card, it was almost like a punch in the stomach. A little reminder that I was not sending out family Christmas cards that year. A little reminder that I was, in fact, at home making puppy chow...by myself...for my co-workers. A harsh reminder. How dare I receive a "hope you have a merry Christmas" note when it was no secret that my Christmas was going to be far from merry. And so I found myself wishing to have what they had. Wishing to have a growing little family, not one that had just been dismantled. Wishing I could send out little holiday cheer cards, too. Wishing that my life was different. Wishing that I could have their blessings. And although I was grateful I was selected to be on their mailing list, I almost wished I would have been overlooked for my own heart's sake.
It's hard not to be jealous, especially when life isn't cooperating with your plans. It's really hard not to even get mad about it. And isn't it funny that we find ourselves either disliking or getting mad at the people who happen to have what we want? It's as if they are rubbing it in our face, when really, they're just living their lives. But we see rings on their fingers, babies in their bellies, new homes, promotions, fit bodies, perfect hair, flawless skin, and we want that. One of my co-workers told me that he can give all 3 of his kids the exact same toy and yet they will still want the toy the other one has. I suppose we never really grow out of that do we? And so I found myself, that Christmas, not being thankful for where God had me that year. I found myself wanting what other people had, when in reality, God was working on bringing that exact thing to me.
Maybe you're like me. Maybe you look at her, you know who I am talking about, and although you like her, you kind of don't. Because she's where you want to be. She has all the things you want for yourself. She keep receiving blessing after blessing while you keep waiting and waiting. And you find yourself focusing so much more on what your life is missing at that time rather than what all life is offering you at that time. You find yourself green with envy, even though you know it's wrong, and all you can think about is how to get there - where she is. How to have what she has, look the way she looks, achieve what she has achieved, and you have forgotten that God has a different story written out for you that He does for her.
Rule # 10 - you must not covet. Early on, God tells them to not even go there. Don't want what other people have. Don't be jealous of things God has given them, wishing they were yours. Because when we do that, our hearts become ungrateful. We basically tell God that what He has given us, and what He has done for us, isn't good enough. We are telling Him that we don't appreciate the blessings He has poured out on us. Throwing the good things He has specifically and intentionally given us right back in His face and demanding more, something else, because we don't want those blessings, we want theirs. But no matter what stage of life you're in, when you walk through it with God, it's full of blessings. You just don't see them because you're too busy looking where you want to be rather than where you are.
God blesses His children, every single one of them. God's blessings are not generic, and we don't all receive the same ones. But God will pour down goodness on us no matter what we're going through. Because the blessing of hardship is the refining of your faith. The blessing of brokenness is the healing process. The blessing of heartache is the comfort He brings. And the blessing of the valley is that He walks with you through it. And so maybe someone else has what you want, but don't worry about it. God is doing things in your life, just as He is in theirs, and so anticipate what's to come. Don't worry about when it will, just be grateful that God has a good plan in store. Be grateful for what He is currently doing, even if it's not what you had in mind. Because there will come day when you look back and you'll see it. You'll see why things went the way they did, and you'll want to be sure that you don't miss out on the blessings of that time because you were too busy looking elsewhere to receive them.
Don't want their blessings but be grateful for yours. Don't want what they have, rather, be grateful for what you have. Because a jealous heart misses out on a lot of sweet blessings in life, but a grateful heart is always open to receive them. God is never limited to how and when He pours out His blessings on you, so just wait it out and be grateful for the fact that they are coming.
#682 - Because He always gives us things to be thankful for and blesses us in every stage of life.
"Even if the forest should be destroyed and the city torn down, the Lord will greatly bless his people. Wherever they plant seed, bountiful crops will spring up." - Isaiah 32:19-20