I always run the last stretch, maybe a quarter mile, of my three mile morning walk. I do it because I want to finish stronger than I started. No matter the weather this extra effort at the end, which includes some uphill, ensures that when I finish, I am pouring sweat and breathing harder than normal.
I usually walk around in my driveway for a couple minutes while I catch my breath and begin to cool down. Today as I was doing this I happened to look up and notice two of the three trees in my yard. These two, pictured above, are just a few feet apart on the same side of my house. In theory, their conditions are basically the exact same.
What jumped out at me this morning is that on the exact same late summer day, one tree is still as gloriously full and green as it was in June. Meanwhile, you can count the number of leaves remaining on the other one. That one is always the first to bloom and the first to lose its leaves.
I understand they are different types of trees and this is totally normal and expected. Yay, science. But this jumped out at me for a different reason this morning. Largely, it makes me think about the dangers of comparison.
God made us similar but different. We’re not supposed to be on the exact same schedule as everyone else. That is totally normal and totally acceptable. Friends we don’t get through life with the same skill sets, desires, gifts, bag of tools or pace. We need to learn to be OK with that.
We grow and learn at different rates as we should. What a boring world it would be if we were exactly the same and did everything at exactly the same pace. Life is not a sprint to see who can do and accumulate the most. I have friends who’ve got more education than I do. They have better paying jobs. They’re prettier. You guys, some of them have children who are better athletes than mine!
In Ecclesiastes, the Bible tells us there is a time for everything under the sun. There is a time for healthy competition but it’s not all the time. If I focus on everything that I think someone else has, I only cheat myself out of enjoying what I know I have. I just shortchange myself and my own capabilities when I worry too much about what everyone else has or what I perceive them to have. No good comes of this. No problems are solved or weights lifted.
The truth is we don’t know what God’s purpose for everyone else is. We are to obey Him and take care of ourselves. He made us exactly how He wanted us. Spending too much time worried about why we’re not like someone else or why we don’t have what they have is not just unproductive, it’s disrespectful to God and to ourselves. We’re better than that. We have our own unique strengths and gifts. We’re expected to use them accordingly.
Each spring that one tree blooms before all the others. It brings me so much hope because it means warmer, sunnier days are on the way. It’s nearly full before the buds are even out on the other one. One is good for my boys to climb in. The other is good for providing shade. Those trees are just feet apart but they’re so different and both so needed for what they provide.
Friends, you, and exactly what you bring to the table, are so needed in this world. Just as you are. Let’s stop getting distracted by comparison and focus more on being the best version of ourselves. Let’s rest when it’s time and thrive when it’s time. I might be what helps someone hold on to summer. You might be what pulls someone out of their winter. We both have value. We’re both needed.
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What a wonderful illustration of comparison! We’re all made differently and we bloom in different ways and at different times. Thanks for sharing!