If you’re feeling frustrated with your life, there’s a good chance you’re caught in the comparison mud pit! Between social media and the holiday season, it’s easy to get caught up in the pressure and feelings that what you have or where you’re at is not enough.

Here’s the truth: when we see our lives through God’s eyes, and are living in step with Him, life becomes an incredibly free and satisfying adventure no matter where we’re at, or what we have. It also opens us up to an overwhelming flood of joy and peace because we know that we are exactly where God wants us to be, that He’s using it all, and all of a sudden we find a heart of contentment and thanks for what we have.

Here’s a pull from my book, Life is Muddy, that I felt led to share today. 🤍, J

“During my single mama years, I was barely making it financially. I paid just a little bit of rent and shared my childhood home with my brain-injured dad who needed to have an extra set of eyes to help oversee his care. I gave my kids the two small bedrooms—the girls had one and the boys had the other—and I slept on a couch. A couch that wasn’t even mine. I did not own much furniture other than the pieces that were given to me over the years for my kids.

And you know what?

I was filled with joy!

I woke up in my childhood home and walked my kids to school on the very sidewalk I had walked down, and my heart was so full with this gift, and blessing that sleeping on a couch didn’t bother me.

My perspective on my life was not built on comparison; it was built on the journey forward that God was taking me on.

Many of my friends were married (not all, but most), lived in gated communities, owned homes (some even had vacation homes and boats), and you know what?

I wasn’t jealous!

I just loved these amazing friendships that formed in this season. The many ways God used me to pour into their lives and how they poured into mine was a gift.

Imagine living life so complete in God’s perfect plan that you can actually enjoy being around people who might have more than you without feeling less-than.

It’s a beautiful thing when we can surround ourselves with people from all walks of life and not feel threatened or swayed. I wasn’t envious of what they had. I knew God was working out the details of my life and I was waiting for Him to take me there.” —Life is Muddy (Ch. 8 The Comparison Mud Pit)