Deflated

This is sad but hilarious. Maybe it's my age or just my competitive spirit. Or maybe my sense of inferiority. Whatever the case, I just set up this blog last night and was feeling pretty good that I had finally done something "technological" without the help of my husband or children. I was telling my daughter Sarah about it and she immediately wanted to set up her own blog. Within minutes she had set up her site and written her first post- so cute, fun, full of life and youthfulness. I went off to play a board game with Andrew and Sandy and by the time I finished, she had customized her site with logos, designs and pictures I didn't even know we had. Suddenly I felt very plain, boring and deflated from the night before. What I thought was such a great endeavor was really just a very ordinary task- not really all that great in the big scheme of things. I went to take a hot shower. A hot shower or bath is my get away, where I can either relax or ponder the events of the day, depending on what time it is and what is going on in the house. Some people sing, some just bathe, but I try to let God work in me and on me while I enjoy the warmth, which is probably why my water bill is so high! I started off feeling discouraged- someone "one-upped" me without even knowing it or trying to. I then remembered my Mom and how as an artist she was always encouraging other artists, always putting the focus on them. I realize this is such a small little matter in the big scheme of life, but I think that is where most of life's lessons are learned- in the small things. I realized that I, too, could take my eyes off my feeble little blog- just enjoy it and laugh about it; and encourage Sarah to make hers the best, cutest, most wonderful blog out there. It is just hard to feel like others are always more creative, full of life, younger... fill in the blanks. But thanking God for who I am and how He created me will never be deflating. I just tucked Sandy in and repeated with her the end of her prayer that we say every night, and claimed it for myself as well- "I am made by God, I am a child of God, I am loved by God, I am accepted by God, and that's the Truth!"