One of the worst for me is reading homeschool blogs! :) That sounds horrible, doesn't it? I love reading what others are doing and how they are doing it...but it always seems to be so better than I imagine our life/school days to be.
There are times that I feel like we have it kind of together, but other times (a lot!) that we're just barely hanging on by a thread of sanity...between schoolwork and music lessons and robotics and animals and laundry and driver's ed and sibling bickering and etc etc... And then those moments of quiet, late at night when the kids are all in bed and I get a chance to look online and read about others' ideas
...and see their wonderful schoolroom redesigns and then look over to view our schoolroom aka kitchen table looking something like this:
and read about how much healthier you will be if your bedroom is peaceful, free of clutter, and a little refuge for you...knowing full well that mine looks something like this:
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| hey, it's clean laundry... |
ALSO -- hearing what wonderful things people are doing in their school worlds...then looking back on our day of seeming chaos and rushing ...
:/ A DEFINITE temptation to compare erupts!!! Am I not as good a mom as these others are? Not as good a wife? Not as good an organizer? Not as good a homeschooler? Not as good anything?
Here's a place where the head has to win over the heart :) I know I'm doing the best I can...I'm where God wants me...doing what He wants me to...experiencing His peace. I can compare all day and find others who are better at pretty much every thing, but I don't think God wants me to spend my time that way.
Let your head remind your heart that...
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:14)
your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:14)
it's hard to keep one's head on straight sometimes... to remember that we must be who we are and remembering WHOSE we are helps in the process (at least that's what I find).
ReplyDeleteI constantly compare myself to other homeschool moms. Glad to know I'm not alone.
ReplyDeleteComparing myself to others is my downfall. I never feel like I measure up to all of the creative, organized mamas who make sure their family gets meals made from scratch every day. Then I get a hug from one of my kids and an "I love you" or my oldest confides in me about what is going on his life and I realize that God has me right where I need to be.
ReplyDeleteComparison sucks! I have found that the more I step away from comparing myself from one house to the next, the happier I have become. I look to other homeschool blogs for ideas, and walk away without comparing! Thank you for joining us in blogging through the alphabet!
ReplyDeleteI typed up a response a couple weeks ago on my phone and it wanted me to comment as Trisha! Now I have to figure out how to get her out of my phone. All because I used her internet one day. I think, while co-op is *amazing* and the fellowship can be so nice and the friendships that form there can last beyond its four walls, we still compare. This mom works outside the home, she has a spotless house, she's a business owner, a crafter, a volunteer, she has a new baby, she manages to do her hair and makeup every single day, her kids are so well behaved. There's something different about every single mom that I admire and if I'm not careful, it can become jealousy, resentment, or cause an inferiority complex. I heard a guy on the radio one morning. Stop buying the lies, because the Truth is free, We have to stop believing the lies.
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