Stay on your own trail

As a mother, wife, and well just a human, I fight a battle every once in awhile.  I find myself picking out all the ways I'm not perfect.  And, the more I concentrate on trying to become perfect, the more I seem to lose myself.

This drive for improvement is a divine gift, but can be used unwisely.  It is necessary for us to strive to become better.  It is part of why we are here.  However, the adversary has a very useful tool to persuade us that we aren't making any progress, and that we just aren't enough.  We wonder if we're doing all we can, when we see others doing it: better, more beautifully, more creatively, more peacefully, more frequently, more consistently, more, more, more.  We tend to walk in the direction of our sight.  If we are not careful, we may suddenly jump our own trail into someone else's trail grooves.  We find that we become more and more frustrated.  We can't navigate this trail, because it is NOT OURS.  We try to keep up, but eventually end up more exhausted, tired, and lost.  What we don't realize is, this foreign trail has been paved by trials, obstacles, hardship, and heartache, that are not ours.  This trail is navigated by one who has paved it.  They alone have earned the map and the ability to navigate it.

We need to stay focused our OWN trail.  We need to look inside of ourselves and realize, that just because we are on a different trail, doesn't mean we are less or better than.  Everyone is given what they need to navigate their own way, pave their own trails, and to become the best versions of themselves they can become.  When we strive less for perfection from an outside/worldy view, and more on introspection, we begin to realize it's not about them vs. us.  It's just about us.  It's about perfecting ourselves through Christ our Redeemer.  It is the only way.  It's about blazing our own path, and becoming stronger and better in that difficult process.  How unfulfilling life would be if everything were perfect, if we never felt that sense of accomplishment, or that overwhelming peace, or those glimpses into eternity, or those spiritual muscles being flexed.  When we come to a place in our road that is seemingly impassible, we have a Savior who bridges those gaps.  When we come to a ravine and there is no way to cross, He shows us how to build a bridge to crossover, whispering words of encouragement as we do so.  All these things build "spiritual muscle", preparing us for the yet uncleared paths ahead.

We cannot possibly compare our path to someone else's.  It's like trying to compare an airplane to a train.  Both different, yet perfect in their own purpose.  Both have a goal to get from point a to point b, but it is not possible for an airplane to go down tracks, anymore than it is possible for a train to fly.  They weren't made to do so.  They were created to fulfill their own unique missions.  This is not to say, we do not need each other.  Surely, we do.  But, when we try so hard to catch up to someone, or to compare our lives to someone else's,  it creates an internal struggle that goes against the very measure of our creation.

We each have amazing purpose.  We should be inspired and lifted by each other.  I believe that is an important part of His plan.  I am amazed at some people and the trail they have been given to travel on.  Even those who seemingly have unobstructed paths, have struggles and hardships.   We may not see those things because we are not on their path.  But, everyone is fighting a battle of some kind.  I think we would do well to look for the good in people more often.  To be positive and loving.  Especially to ourselves.  Don't long for another's path.  Everything you NEED in this life can be found on your own incredible trail.