This morning I went for a walk along the beach. No biggie, you might say, but it’s the first time I have set foot outside our house (apart from checking the mailbox) for 10 days.
No prizes for guessing why I have been stuck inside for 10 days.
It was a delight to be out in the sunshine, sipping a flat white and strolling along the beach. However, I soon became aware of a number of pensioners who seemed to be speed walking as they overtook me (on the way up the beach and on the way back). In fact, I’m pretty sure that every single person on the beach, including the toddler playing in the sand, could have beaten me in a 50-m sprint. I was S L O W…
That’s OK. I am recovering from COVID, I haven’t done any exercise at all for over a week, and I’m doing very well to be out there at all. I know this. And I don’t really mind what other people think. They don’t know my history. They don’t need to know. I know I’ve done well to get out. That’s all that matters.
It made me think about life. About what a waste of time it is to compare ourselves to others.
You’ve all heard this. You all know it. How we curate our lives to look good on social media. How we share the happy bits and hide the sad.
I think I’ve been more aware as I watch the news and hear the flood of stories of people who were abused as children. For some of us, just getting up in the morning takes a monumental effort. But often no-one else knows the amount of energy it takes to do the most basic of things. Just like none of those pensioners knew that I was recovering from COVID.
We need to remember that we are doing our best. Your best is no-one else’s best. It is yours, based on your background, your mental health, your learning, your energy levels. Your best is enough. My best is enough.
I’m here, trying to build an online business. Trying to sell books and promote a blog and podcast. And often I feel just like I did on the beach this morning – plodding along while others zoom past. I can get quite down about it.
But I don’t need to. I just need to keep doing my best. I just need to keep plodding.
My books and things may never take off. They may never reach more than a few people. That’s ok too. The important thing is to be faithful to what I’m called to do. The important thing is to keep plodding and doing my best.
“People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’ 1 Sam 16:17b
There is only one who can ultimately judge us. He knows your background, your energy levels, your mental health, your physical health, everything. God knows it all. So he can accurately judge.
Fortunately, he also loves us enough to die for us, so that when we don’t do our best, when we don’t measure up, when we don’t try hard enough, we can be forgiven and given a clean slate. Immediately. We just have to turn around and ask.
So whether we’re looking at ourselves or at others, comparison is useless, judging is useless, we just need to keep loving others and keep trying our best. And when we fall, we can immediately run back into the arms of the one who loves us enough to die for us, and then we can keep going. Plodding along the beach until we heal enough to be able to run.
If you think this can help someone else, please feel free to pass it on. And if you would like a chat, you can email me at ruth@ruthamos.com.au, find me on Facebook at Ruth Amos Author, or on Twitter @aquietlifeblog.
A Quiet Life 