This usually happens when I step foot into a house that's "more" than mine, or when I'm in the company of women who are more educated than I, or when I come across incredible blogs that jump out and seem to say "Hey, can you see my ten-digit following!?"
And I am learning that happiness NEVER comes from comparing myself to anyone else . . . it only comes as I look to God and live.
BTW, the word happiness is not found in the Bible. But can be found 26 times in the Book of Mormon!!
Oh, and here's that wonderful reminder story told by Elder Gordon T. Watts of the Seventy, (which can also be found HERE.)
As a young boy, life on our small family farm was heaven. Often in our humble home there were not as many shingles as we had roof. The rest-room facility was connected by a long path that required some advance planning, and sometimes my worn shirt had more buttonholes than buttons. The Saturday night bath in front of a warm stove, where your body experienced both extremes in temperature, was a luxury.
Then something changed. I started school and began to notice possessions I had not known. Some had nice clothing, beautiful homes with all the modern conveniences, and drove newer automobiles. Many my age were not required to arise early and do chores before going to school, only to go home at night and do them all over again. While they were popular and confident, I became backward and shy. Regretfully, I began to forget how happy I had been with my basket of blessings as I indulged in comparing their seemingly endless bushels to mine. Thus, the blinders to humility began distorting reality, giving way to ingratitude. The expectation that more is deserved can cause our plate of plenty to appear empty. Gratitude has many faces and takes on many forms. Failure to recognize the Lord for all we have will soon result in selfish behavior.
I have had these thoughts recently. But even though we don't have a lot compared to some, my children still complain about having a certain soup too often and don't appreciate the "sugar" cereal I rarely got as a child. I'd like to think that my children will be better off because their heads weren't always entertained by a DS or an MP3 player or cable channels. :)
ReplyDeletethank for this post. A wonderful reminder....thank you :).
ReplyDelete