Comparing Yourself to Others

I have been blessed with two beautiful sisters. My biological sister, Ashley and my Sister-in-law, Megan are two of the most gorgeous young ladies I have had the pleasure of knowing. I have enjoyed watching them grow and develop into Godly young ladies and I am sure that anyone who knows these two can agree with what I am saying. I have a crazy amount of love for these two girls, however I must admit that I have struggled with comparing their God-given beauty to my own.

Ashley has these piercing blue eyes that attract one's attention for miles. She has a laugh that is absolutely contagious. She has the most amazing abdomen, legs, and butt. And she is the perfect height (in my opinion). Unlike myself, Ashley has never had a weight issue. She has always been naturally thin and to my knowledge, has never had any weight insecurities. She has a confidence that I envy and I have often found myself wishing I could have "Ashley's body" or "Ashley's eyes" or "Ashley's confidence."

My sister-in-law, Megan has the prettiest smile of anyone I can think of. She also has every girl's dream figure. She is around 5'5" and is an absolute bean pole. She has that ever so coveted "thigh gap" and looks absolutely perfect in a bikini. Megan has the perfect complexion, as I have never seen her with even as much as a pimple or bump on her face. Like my sister Ashley, Megan has never struggled with a weight issue. She also has a killer confidence that people notice, and I often envy. I have always compared myself to Megan and find myself saying, "Why can't I be skinny like Megan?" or "Why can't I have the confidence Megan has?"

As you can see, I love and think very highly of my sisters. They are beautiful from the inside out. If we can see the God-given beauty in others, why can't we see it in ourselves? Also, why are we always comparing ourselves to others, when we are all uniquely and wonderfully designed by God? It literally just clicked with me that although Ashley and I are sisters, we are not the same person. We may have similarities, but there is no doubt that we are different people with different features. Ashley has blue eyes and I have hazel green eyes. Now do you think that God said to himself when he made us, "Oh I want to give Ashley the prettier eye color." No he didn't. I am 5'10", Ashley is around 5'8" and Megan is around 5'5". I am nearly 6 feet tall and I am not supposed to weigh what Ashley and Megan weigh. If I did that wouldn't be functional or healthy. Because I am so tall, I have to have bigger feet, and bigger legs and thighs to even do so much as to stand, run, walk, exercise, etc. My thighs are not supposed to be the size of Megan's because we are both built differently. Ashley and Megan both have amazing abdomens and look incredible in bathing suits. But Ashley and Megan have not had a baby, and I have. My stomach was stretched out from my pregnancy and although I have lost my baby weight, my abdomen will never return to its "pre-baby" form. I say all this to raise a point- just because I am different than my sisters doesn't mean I'm not beautiful.

I share with you this example of me comparing myself to my sisters because I want you to understand that everyone does it. It is human nature to want what other people have. It is also human nature to sometimes forget what God has blessed us with. I have been blessed with so much and I always have to remind myself of that. My physical features like my eye color and my pant size are not important in the grand scheme of things. One of the things that I have had to overcome this past year is how to love myself. I am so good at loving other people and pointing out the beautiful things in others that I completely forget to do the same with me. Remember, we are all made in God's image- therefore, in his eyes we are perfect. I want to challenge you to stop comparing yourself to the beauty of others and learn to praise God for the way he made you because you are absolutely beautiful.