I don't know what made this spring any different from the two prior ones. The bushes seemed to think this was their year to burst forth and put on a colorful show. And I'm glad that they did.
These late bloomers remind me a lot of myself. My teenage years were a struggle because I didn't bloom when others my age did. But eventually I did. In my own time. And the funny thing was that it took another four years post-blooming for people in my class, the same ones I had worried were staring at me during all those difficult years, to even notice the difference. It made me realize that we were all preoccupied with our own struggles and comparisons.
Somehow I doubt that the ballerina bushes engaged in any such comparison over the past couple of years. They simply grew at their own rate and bloomed in their own time.
They serve as a little reminder for me that I shouldn't be comparing my spiritual walk, my financial status, or anything else in my life to others. Because God may have a different growth rate planned for me. Just like those ballerina bushes.
What areas of your life do you have trouble leaving out of the comparison game?
5 comments:
How lovely. So glad they survived the storm last week. The analogy reminded me that I should focus on God and not on what the world around me sees as valuable.
Isn't it funny that we measure our success by comparing ourselves to other people? God wants us to keep our eyes on Him. And He always loves us, accepts us, and delights in us, without comparing us to anyone else.
By the way, you may have been a late bloomer, Alyssa, but what a show! The rest of us get to admire what God has done in your life. :-)
Beautiful shrubs...I never knew the name of them before. My home church has these same kind outside the front doors. (Pics on my blog if you want to see.)
I play the comparison game with...trees! We've had our own landscaping troubles and it can make me slightly banananas how one tree will thrive and another right next to it will wither and die.
Your post is a good reminder that we're all created differently and we respond to the same environments in different ways. There will always be people richer, smarter, prettier, healthier, funnier, and wiser than we are. Accepting that, and appreciating wherever we are on that spectrum, makes the comparison game less appealing.
Wonderful post. Tender topic for most of us women, I think.
Parenting would be it for me.
MB - Unfortunately, the bushes don't look anything like that now. That picture was taken prior to the past 2 storms. You are so right about focus.
R - Thanks for your kind words!
B - Wise words, Friend! Well said!
K - Thanks for being brave and sharing.
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