If I could just become Instagram famous and receive products for free. If I was married, I would be so much happier. If I could just get a promotion or two at work, I’ll have made it. Does anyone else think these thoughts? WE NEED TO STOP THINKING THIS WAY.
I’m not yelling at you here, I promise. I’m preaching to myself as much as I am to you. Why oh why do we let society dictate our thoughts and feelings? Why do we have “the grass is always greener” mentality? Why can we never seem to be happy and content with where we are in life? News flash: maybe that Instagram blogger you admire that has thousands of followers has no real life friends. Maybe your married friend who you are secretly jealous of is actually really struggling in her marriage and can’t adjust from her single life. Maybe the person at work who keeps getting promotions over you hates getting out of bed every day to come to a job that she despises.
The point is that we do not see other people’s struggles. We have no idea the depths of emotions, struggles, or sins we come across every single day.
We also have to break free from the vice of comparison and status. You are the only you out there! God created you exactly the way He wanted you to be. Isn’t it time we take comfort in the fact that God created us: flaws, insecurities and everything else? That is absolutely beautiful and should come as a major comfort!
I know that I would hate it if I worked 40+ hours a week, had no time for a social life or for self-care, and neglected my relationship with God all for some sort of status. Because what happens when I get said status? I’m lonely, exhausted, and have weakened the bond with my most important relationship: Jesus. Double whammy: what if I’m not happy? What if I even hate my newfound status? Everything I went through will have been for nothing!
Side note: I’ve thought about taking a fast from social media lately. I’ve seen multiple friends do so, and they never regret it. The one thing that always stops me is this: what if I miss job postings on Facebook or Instagram? What if the perfect job finally becomes available and I miss out? NEWFLASH KELSEY: if God wants me to have that job, He will absolutely find another way to inform me of it. Won’t He do it?! So for the next week, I am deleting the Facebook and Instagram apps off my phone and won’t be logging in on my computer. I don’t need my social media accounts to be the places where I get my worth or status from.
I hope we can be the generation that is honest: honest about our struggles, how we are hurting, what makes us happy, and everything in between. I hope we can be authentic with ourselves, our friends, and strangers. I hope we can learn to love everyone, despite our differences. I hope we can change the word “millennials” from having a negative connotation to a positive connotation. I hope we put more worth in our relationship with God, having true friendships, and genuinely being happy over every kind of status we could ever long for.
