Comparing

When am I going to learn to stop comparing myself to others?? There are a lot of great things on the internet - including thousands of blogs written by moms like me who just want a place to put down their thoughts. If you start surfing the web in this direction you can come across all kinds of other moms to compare yourself to. Which is what I've been doing the last couple of days. Now all sorts of questions are popping up in my head - mostly things like "what's wrong with me - why can't I live off the earth, homeschool, sew, cook, create wonderful craft projects with my kids, be a 'natural' parent etc, etc, etc..." Then a few moments ago I started to read this blog that Trevor sent to me in light of Orthodox Lent. I will not even pretend to be able to tell you what the 40 Maxims are. I have no clue. I have been reading the entries and subsequent comments the last few days. As I was scrolling down to read for the first time what each one is I came across #26 - "Don't compare yourself with anyone." That literally made my heart skip a beat. That's exactly what I've been doing the last couple of days. Note to self: knock it off and stop wasting your time reading a bazillion different blogs that have no relevance to your life! Focus on your relationship with God!

These maxims all seem to be extremely practical things to help you grow in your spiritual life and for those who know me well - I'm all about being practical. (I've got little brainpower to be wasted on philosophical or political mumbo jumbo. I do not want to theorize about why this or that is true or why this or that should be done. I want to live my life and in the process I want to draw nearer to God.) I'm sure someone out there (ahem - Trevor) will eventually set me straight on exactly what these maxims are and where they came from, but for now I'm enjoying being a totally clueless evangelical peering into the thoughts of my Orthodox sisters.

PS - Trevor wait until after Lent to tell me what the 40 Maxims are. For now I want to remain clueless!