You are more

            It’s hard not to compare ourselves to others around us these days. With social media, magazines, and other technology taking over our lives, we have access to the lives of other people right at our finger tips, any time of day. Whether it be looking at the pictures of people we’re “friends” with or flipping through photos of celebrities, we typically only see the highlight reel of others. Who honestly wants to post a picture that they think they don’t look good in? Not many people that I know. It’s nice to be able to see what people we know/don’t know are up to, but this can come at a detriment to us without us even realizing it.
            Seeing the oh-so-fabulous lives of others can make us feel depressed, like we’re missing out on fun things or like we’re not as important or “cool.” We see all of the things that others are up to and wonder why we weren’t invited or why our life doesn’t have such opportunities as others. We see the happy faces of families spending the holidays together and wonder why our family isn’t like that, or why our relationship isn’t as perfect and seemingly happy as that couple that just got engaged. The list and comparisons go on and on, even if we don’t mean for it to.  
            Even our daily lives can make it hard to not compare ourselves to those around us. The friends we have, our family members, our coworkers, the cashier at the gas station, the coffee shop owner.. we have multiple interactions with a variety people on a daily basis. With all of the conversations we have, ranging from the most trivial discussion about someone’s favorite food to the most essential topic of whatever you value as important, we gain insight and information about the lives of those we mingle with. It’s similar to social media because rarely do we get down in the grits with those we pass by on the streets and share the struggles that we are facing, but instead we focus on the good things that are happening in life.
            It’s easy to get caught up in comparisons and labels of life and forget about who you truly are. You could be a student, daughter, son, granddaughter, grandson, nurse, mother, father, colleague, boyfriend, fiancé, etc. You could have the best job in the world, make big bucks, make nothing, or be unemployed. Whatever your situation, there’s always going to be someone you know that seems to be doing better than you, that seems to have it all figured out. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by this, and lately, I’ve been facing a lot of these instances and began comparing myself to those I spoke with. Those around me seem to have their lives together. They’re either working a full-time job or know what they’re going to do with their lives after graduation. There’s some that have had a significant other for years, some that are single, some that are married, and some that have babies. Some are earning a lot of money, some hardly getting by paycheck to paycheck. The list can go on for days, but you get the gist. It might be easy to relate to others that are at similar point in their lives, but it’s also easy to forget that where you are is where you’re meant to be and that you’re who you are for a reason and you’re 110% more than enough.
            There have been times lately, especially with being back at home where everyone knows everyone, that I’ve had conversations with others about what I’m doing post-graduation, and sometimes it isn’t easy and people don’t always understand why I do what I’ve been doing, and how I can keep working contract jobs without any set plan. It’s made me question what I’ve been doing, ponder how I could find a job where I’d have a set schedule and a permanent spot behind a desk. Would I be happy? Maybe, maybe not.
            The glorious realization I’ve slowly come to is that I can’t let others opinions of me change who I am or what I want to do with my life, and neither should you. I’ve been becoming comfortable with the fact that I am enough. I am more than any label or job title or salary. I’m a girl that might not have it all figured out, but I know a God that does. I know that He has a plan for me, and I know that I continue to put all of my trust in Him to lead me where I need to go. I’ve come across people that have changed my life forever and I’m infinitely grateful for their friendship. I might love with all of my heart and care way too much about everyone, but I know that one day, that love will be returned by the man that God created for me to share this life with. I’m a girl that loves to be outdoors, that can’t sit behind a desk all day because I love being out working and interacting with others, trying to make even a small impact on their lives if I can.
            I know this life is precious. I know that in an instant our entire lives could be flipped upside down. I know that none of us are promised tomorrow. I never let an “I love you” go unsaid. Can you really ever love too much? I find beauty in sitting outside and watching the sunrise or sunset, staring up at a star-filled sky for hours and feeling so infinitely small because our God is so incredibly huge. I like to make people smile, to make sure that they know they are important and can make a difference in this world. We all can, and we’re all important.
            If you’re feeling like you aren’t good enough for someone or something, let me be the first (or the twentieth) to tell you that you are. If you feel alone or unwanted, misused or misunderstood, there’s One person that will ALWAYS be there for you, that thinks the world of you, of whom you’ll always be enough for. He would rather die than live without you. Ephesians 3:18—“I pray that you… will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love --- how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is.”  So forget about the labels, the comparisons that are so easy to make, and focus on you and how greatly you are loved. You are more. More than any label or comparison you could think to make. You are more than the money you make, the job you do, the degree you have, the places you’ve been, and the pictures you post. See that sunrise, you've been given another new day to be the person that God created you to be. Feel that heartbeat? You're alive for a reason. You are a Son or Daughter of Christ, and you are loved more in a moment by an amazing Savior than anyone else could ever love you in a lifetime. You’re enough, and you always will be.

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