I Didn’t Know My Life Was Such a Drag Till I Saw Your Life on Facebook

I’ve been waiting for the plumber since noon.  It’s now five minutes after four.

I also broke my garage door this morning and my car is stuck inside. The garage door repair man should be here in about an hour.

I might also mention that we had our bonus room/office ceilings dry walled yesterday to repair a major water leak and the room is covered with plastic so fans can blow continual warm air to dry it.

The massive leak repair has been in process for six weeks.

And my husband is in Haiti.

If it wasn’t all so totally over the top I would be crying.  I’m laughing now, but that wasn’t the case a few days ago. Sunday afternoon I had a complete meltdown.  An ugly one.  (and that was before the need for the plumber and the garage door repairman, but after I knew about the need for the washing machine repairman, who came yesterday). Are you getting the picture here? It hasn’t exactly been all rainbows and sunshine the past few weeks.

And you know what’s been the hardest part?  Don’t laugh, but the thing that set me over the edge was Facebook.  Not Facebook itself, of course, but the pictures of all my smiling, happy Facebook friends snuggling with their children, canoodling with their husbands, arm in arm with loved ones around Thanksgiving feasts. Please don’t misunderstand, I’m thrilled that so many of my friends had wonderful Thanksgiving breaks, and I am well aware that I have had my share of heartwarming moments, too (more than my fair share, really).  It’s just that the picturesque moments shared on Facebook were a stark reminder of how many of my Thanksgiving hopes and yes, even expectations, failed to materialize this year.

In other words, I didn’t know my life was such a drag until I saw your life on Facebook.

OK, so I’m only being partially serious, but you know as well as I do that comparison, unmet expectations, and ongoing stress can produce havoc in the emotions of an otherwise sane woman. Especially during the holiday season.

Unless…..

She turns her attention away from what God has given others to what God has given her.

She realizes she’s in a battle with the enemy who wants to steal, kill and destroy all she holds dear.

She holds her expectations loosely, realizing that God may have a different agenda than she does.

Some days I do this better than others.  I’m guessing you are pretty much like me. So what do we do when we realize we’ve been comparing our life circumstances with others and our life comes up lacking?  How do we handle all the expectations we put on ourselves and others, especially during the holidays? What do we do when we’ve had a meltdown?

Confess.

Repent.

Accept a big dose of Grace.

I’m being completely serious here.  Confessing our sinful attitudes and actions to God and to those who were impacted by the same, is really the only path to emotional and spiritual freedom. And it’s the only way to really, truly experience what we Christians call “grace”.  Never underestimate the power of a sincere “I’m sorry”.

After my emotional outburst on Sunday I felt sick with sorrow, though in the midst of it, my verbal vomit seemed completely rational given the past weeks’ stress. But the freeing beauty of confession gave me a renewed love for Jesus, who died precisely because I am still a sinner who battles sin, even after many years of knowing Him. Jesus said it best: “The one who has been forgiven much, loves much.”

My life isn’t perfect and neither is yours (and if it is, for the sake of the rest of us, please don’t post it on Facebook!) but aren’t we glad that we don’t have to be perfect to be loved and forgiven?

Still though, I want to learn the lessons I’m certain God intended me to learn; hold my expectations loosely and guard comparing my life to others’ ruthlessly.

And oh, yeah….. always have a few good repairmen handy.