I know I struggle with it. I know in my head that we are all normal human beings, with our own strengths and weaknesses. Still, I can't seem to help myself.
And I don't just compare myself and other women. I compare my children with theirs. It just seems like a natural reflex. How do their skills measure up against other children their own age? I feel encouraged in areas that they are doing better than their peers, discouraged when another skill doesn't seem to measure up.
To be honest, this is the one thing I struggle with when I blog. I know that homeschoolers are going to read what I write and compare their lives, their gifts, and their children's gifts with mine. I know this because I fall into that myself when I'm reading other people's blogs.
We all need to remember that we live coram Deo. As R.C. Sproul defines it, "To live coram Deo is to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God."
It should not matter at all what anyone else is doing. It should be enough for us (more than enough!) to try to faithfully use the gifts God has given us for his glory. It should be enough to do daily the work He has set before us.
The gifts and the callings he has given us are different from those he has given our blogging friends. We are not called to faithfully use their gifts or to do what they are called to do. We are called to encourage one another and build each other up. I hope you see that heart here, and that when you visit this blog you look for encouragement to apply to your own calling as you live before God.
We do not live before the face of the internet. (coram interrēte?) We live before the face of God.
