I
met a thief in the hospital on Thursday;
baby G contracted
a virus
and became dehydrated.
and became dehydrated.
While we were in turn to be called,
the thief made his appearance
on a waiting room T.V. game show.
the thief made his appearance
on a waiting room T.V. game show.
The show featured four
brides
who attended each other’s weddings
and then rated them in effort
to win an
exotic honeymoon.
The
once-in-a-lifetime event,
the day that they had each meticulously planned,
every detail given heartfelt attention to,
was stripped of its meaning,
and given a number.
“They
should have used more color”
“Her dress was too plain”
“The chicken was dry”
“The flowers looked skimpy”
“The music wasn’t very good”
The sacred ceremony reduced to a scorecard.
And for what?
A trip.
The trade off just doesn’t add up.
You can save up for an exotic trip,
but
your wedding day
it’s a one-time deal.
The vows, two people becoming one,
the celebration with friends and family
reduced to competition.
who could think this would be a good idea?
But I have done the same thing.
Many times.
I have
allowed pinterest birthday party photos
to make me feel like a dullard
mother.
I have ogled Facebook photos
of my friends vacations,
not in an
“I’m so glad for you”
way
either.
I have, in
short,
drunk the poison elixir of comparison.
When
we choose to sip from the cup of the joy thief,
we ingest a
biting brew of bitterness,
biting brew of bitterness,
a dour drink of discontent
a poison pint of pity.
Our
creator knew that the joy thief
would like nothing better than to
strip us of
the joy in our lives.
2 Corinthians 2:10
warns us against the foolishness
of comparing
ourselves,
of measuring ourselves with others.
Like
David we can choose to say,
“my cup runneth over”.
My cup may be smaller than yours,
it may be wood,
yours
may be gold,
but it’s the cup God trusted me with.
If I compare mine with yours,
I’m saying that God does not
know
what is best
what is best
for me.
To be wise,
we must lay down the measuring stick,
the
scorecard,
the measuring cup.
So
go ahead, pour up a big ol cup of gratitude,
and start sipping.
That ol joy
thief,
he can go pour his poisonous brew
somewhere else.
somewhere else.
On T.V. perhaps,
where it seems he is
welcomed, encouraged, and celebrated.
I’m going to keep opening up the
Book of Wisdom
and let it’s waters of
life
keep filling my cup,
and my home.
On Facebook and Pinterest,
I'm going to sip while I interact,
practice as I pin;
as for me and my mouse,
we will serve the Lord.