Do you ever feel like you just aren't doing it right? Whatever it may be...work, dating/marriage, other relationships, parenting, social skills, evangelizing, right down to the nitty-gritty details, like how those stains come out on laundry day. Life?
Christ instructs us to be in the world, but not to be OF the world. This is hard. Everyday.
We are surrounded by people and media who influence us. We watch, we learn, we listen...and sometimes we think why can't I be like that? Don't let them fool you. They may seem confident, and maybe they are (most of the time). But don't think for a minute that they don't have any insecurities... we all have moments of doubt.
It seems many of the pressures we feel may be self-induced. Do we assume we are inadequate based on the rest of the world? Are we creating problems we don't have?
We are all victim to our own thoughts, and they may go something like this:
Am I keeping up on the house properly? Work is exhausting, should I even be doing this job? Do I belong here? Did I say the right thing? Did I do the right thing? Did he notice my new haircut? Are we still friends? I should call, or should I? Double-guessing yourself. I heard she does it this way, maybe I should do it that way, too. The comparisons. Am I being as good of a wife as so-and-so? Then, the guilt. Oh no, I forgot another birthday. I didn't have time to clean the house before guests arrive. I just want to be more like.... Jesus, help me!
And He does. Every time. When I start to detract my focus from Him, I find the insecurities hiding in the depths of my mind and feel the pressures of the world weigh in on my heart. However, God has provided us with the gift of Christ, who carries our burdens...even when we feel like we can't keep up.
I am never going to get all of it right. Neither are you. So, how do we move forward knowing that old insecurities will wear us down, and new pressures will test us? I am trying my best to learn, keep going when I get it wrong, and most importantly accept the grace that Christ has provided for us.
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