Seasons - Contentment in All Stages of Life

You know when you’re somewhere between 13 and 16 and you assume that you’ll go to college after high school, graduate with the love of your life, travel a little bit, start a career that you love, have a few kids in a beautiful home, retire with the same love of your youth, vacation some more… all in that order? Then you get somewhere between 18-23 and realize that life doesn’t (normally) go like that. Do feel like you skipped a step or three, and now you’re caught in the crossfire of expectation and comparison? Maybe the people who were supposed to love you and keep you safe actually became the people to hurt you deeply and direct you down a hard path. Maybe college wasn’t for you. Maybe you got pregnant young. You found love old. Your dream home isn’t so dreamy. You hurt the people around you. You found a career you love and a family wasn't in your cards. You experienced heartbreak and tragedy. You began traveling and never stopped.

Or maybe the life that you always wanted is yours, and you’re still stuck comparing it to others. You are caught ducking and hiding and wondering where you went wrong. You are stuck scrolling down your timeline full of people that have the life you want. You are stuck comparing.

Our friend Comparison does not only show up to keep us company when it comes to appearances and materialism, but stages of life as well.

Who tells us that life is a one-way road that we all need to take? The same journey, the same car, the same destinations. Somehow, we are programmed to believe that life should look a certain way; we all end up thinking that we messed up in some aspect, and that we are missing out right now. When in reality life is like a map of the United States - there are back roads, interstates, highways, city streets, country gravel roads – they all are intertwined and go in all different directions and lead us to different destinations. I don’t know where we get the notion that life should be traveled the same way by us all. What a beautiful rule of life that we all take different routes - it would be wildly boring if it were all the same.

Comparison is never a good friend. She’s irritating, bad for our state of mind, and lies about reality. I hope wherever you are at right now in life, you are content. The only way to cut off comparison is to welcome contentment. Welcome her with an open door and open arms and invite her to stay late into the night; I hope she helps you see

the good parts of the roads you traveled, and are currently driving on. Maybe some of the turns you took were wrong, maybe some were harder than you expected. But they're all a part of your story. If you’re not happy with the way things are going, simply turn around and take control of the things you can. You can’t control the weather, the potholes, the sharp turns, the traffic. You can control the radio, the sunroof, the steering wheel, and the company you have in the backseat. Comparison is not the friend you want because she'll always convince you you're going the wrong way. Contentment on the other hand is the best shotgun rider - she'll help you enjoy the road you're on and take in the view that is unique to you. Invite her along on your journey.

Questions to ponder:

-Are you content with where you are in life?

-What areas do you need to let go of comparison?