Inside Her Heart

When I am faced with the comparison trap, I like to celebrate the gifts that God has given me along with celebrating the gifts that He has given those who I might feel tempted to compare myself to. I’ve learned that there are enough gifts, abilities, blessing, providence, joy, opportunity, and love to go around and that we can best serve Him when we work together as a community. Writing an encouraging note or inviting a sweet friend out to coffee can not only help me to take her out of the comparative spotlight, but also to see inside her heart and learn from her, too.  – Kyla Mary

I have this friend. She’s one of my closest, dearest friends. Our husbands were friends first. I didn’t know her very well at the beginning, and I felt my heart comparing us. Our looks, our weight, our wardrobe. Silly, stupid stuff.

Over time, I prayed that our friendship would grow, and grow deep. The more I got to hear her heart and learn her story, the less threatened I felt. The more seen and heard I felt.

Our relationship become less competitive, and more selfless–more encouraging. 

I will never forget when I admitted my struggle with comparison to her. It felt awkward, and I feared sounding crazy. It was such a hard, but necessary, first step in breaking down unhealthy barriers in our relationship.

It’s amazing to think about how close our friendship has grown, and I believe much of that growth started with the decision to stop comparing and stop competing. To see her as my sister in Christ. To learn from her, encourage her, and look inside her heart.

(This is part of a series from write31days.com. To see all posts in this series, click here.)