Snapshots

It was a good weekend and one which included some of my favorite things - walking, crafting and family. I didn't remember to take pictures, but on Saturday night some of us took my mother-in-law out for a Mother's Day celebration as well.

I had a bit of an epiphany yesterday about Mother's Day. I know so many struggle with this day either because they have lost a mom, their relationship with their mother is complicated, or they are struggling in their own mothering and relationships with children. 

It's easy to set expectations for how the day should go and when it doesn't go according to your internal expectations, it's disheartening. My family does do a good job of showing me they love me, but I can fall in the trap of expecting this picture-perfect day or comparing my life to another person's life. Social media doesn't help because, of course, everyone is showing their best and brightest moments; their snapshot moments.

I was starting to descend into a comparison and "poor me" attitude about this when I gave myself an invisible "smack upside the head" and said, "enough!" 😄

The reality is that we are all imperfect and flawed and none of our lives are going to be perfect. We need to stop comparing our imperfect life to someone else's seemingly perfect one.

This day on the calendar can put undue pressure on everyone’s family to look a certain way or to make it seem as if you don’t measure up. It's not just Mother's Day. Other holidays can have the same effect. And that pressure doesn't just affect you; it affects your family and makes their day unenjoyable too.

I decided to shake off the silly comparisons and I chose to enjoy my day. And you know what? It was a really good day. I stayed in the moment and ignored social media. I enjoyed my family. We had good conversations and we had fun.

I want to encourage you to find joy in your moments. Find ways to make it enjoyable and stop the comparisons. There will always be someone who has better circumstances than you, but there are also others that have worse ones. 

Be thankful for the life God has given to you. Remember that those snapshots you see of another person's life are a moment in time. You don't always see the rest of the picture. When we learn to stop comparing that is when we will experience contentment and peace.

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!