Pinterest Perfect

There I stood in my galley kitchen huff'n and puff'n over how my peeler is shredding my carrots. The nerve. I didn't own one of these peelers until recently. I've been married for almost 7 years!  How did I manage?  Well, honestly I did just great. There were a few times I thought about having one or needing one but we made do with a good old trusty knife! 

Recently while babysitting, Alivia and the little girl I watch acquired a taste for carrots. Not the cute little baby carrots, oh no can't have the ones already cut up nicely for you, they wanted whole carrots roughly the size of their arms.  So as I reached for my friends peeler my eyes were taken back by its sleekness and then I placed it in my hand and ran it down the carrot and my mouth dropped. (I don't get out much) it was smooth, lightweight, and very durable. In no time I had that carrot peeled. I was in love. 

Fast forward to me huffing and puffing....my peeler wasn't cutting it anymore. We are breaking up. It's big, bulky and the peels stay on the carrot creating more work for me. I just don't like it anymore after using hers. 

As I look outside I let out a sigh. Our neighbors are getting their lawn mowed. He owns a landscaping company so it is only fitting to have his yard done and their landscaping looking like it came right out of better homes and gardens magazine. I look at our yard and see Barkley half covered in our over grown grass. I look at all the places we need mulch and the weeds that are overtaking my flower beds. There is so much to do. 

My eyes go back to the carrots and I continue with the peeling. I hand Alivia a carrot and get on my computer for a bit while she has a snack. I go to Pinterest. I immediately see prestine porches adored in ferns and candles, skinny girls in jcrew outfits, DIY projects galore and ways to be a better wife. I can only think of where I'm lacking in those areas. My overgrown porch, love handles, goodwill clothes, half finished projects and the fight I just had with my hubby!  I could be better, I need to be better. 

What if I never saw my friends peeler or looked at my neighbors yard or got onto Pinterest.  What if I didn't see any of that? Would I still feel inadiquate? Maybe a little but I think I would be content with exactly what I needed and have because I wouldn't know any better. 

We are so hard on ourselves and we are constantly comparing ourselves with others.  Could we train ourselves to not look over that fence and see the greener grass. This is what God teaches Samuel:

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."-1 Samuel 16:7

Lets change our earthly perspective of our lives to a Godly one and stop comparing ourselves to others. Lets start focusing our minds on the heart issues. That's what matters to God, not perfectly cut grass or a kitchen that has been pinned far to many times for its elagant cabinets & glamorous appliances. God did not put us here on earth to compare and fight to keep up with the jones's. He put us here to love and serve others, to bring others to know him and pursue a greatness within our hearts. 

Head up!

Oh the sun does love us after all! I was beginning to worry if we would ever feel the warmth of its rays on our face again! It was a perfect day to be outside, all day long. 

Last summer Alivia didn't have any desire to learn how to ride her bike. Many experienced bike riders in our family would spend time trying to teach her how to push her feet down onto the pedals to make the bike move. We would even try to do it for her. She would give it a go for a good second then out of frustration she would run off to go color with chalk or ride her scooter, a much easier task for a three year old. The summer came and went and my daughter still didn't know how to ride a bike. I reminded myself that this did not have any reflection on me being a mom, and that I needed to focused on the desires of my daughters heart instead, so didn't push it. 

Fast forward to a month ago when my daughter jumped on a bike and started riding as if she had been riding for years. Yay!!! I am a good mom! Although, I had nothing to do with this new found technique my pride was overflowing!! 

Being a new rider she doesn't quite know the "rules of the road" yet. She rode on the left side of the path and all over for that matter and she wasn't watching where she was going. The bike veered off into the grass at one point and she fell off, taking me with her! She tried to pass a walker on his left and almost took him out while asking for his name. And she wanted a couple to stop running so she could pet their dog!  The biggest problems she had was looking at her feet instead of looking up to see where she was going, this is when things got bad! She was all over the path, she fell off, and she ran into me multiple times jabbing her handle into my thigh!  I kept telling her to keep her head up! It doesn't matter what your feet are doing, it matters where you are going.

Then God spoke. I stopped and took a deep breath, I watched my beautiful family making some lifetime memories with each other. I took a mental picture and he said quietly, "This is what I want you to do, keep your head up Audra."  I was reminded that many times I am caught looking down so to speak, or looking back at my past. I think about how I could've done something different or wish I wouldn't have done that and that is when I begin to stumble or fall, and sometimes taking others down with me.  I focus on where I came from or the past mistakes I've made instead of looking forward. I don't see the person God has made me into today and the person he desires for me to be tomorrow. The past is behind us and there is no need to look back, we need to learn from our past and keep our heads up focused on greater things! 

So give yourself a break and wipe that slate clean,just as Jesus did for us, and push on toward what God has in store for you today! Head up!