Not as it appears . . . But still beautiful

When I take this photo of Zoya overlooking the city on a Thursday afternoon while you are home with three sick kids or about to go pick a jury or stuck behind a desk, remember that a picture isn’t always worth a thousand words. Nothing in this photo says, I have to take my daughter with me to my dentist appointment because my husband who used to watch her was killed and and the dentist office’s lobby has some crazy cool views. Nothing in this photo says, while working I had to fit in the dentist, an oil change, a hair cut, and the exterminator to a 24 hours period; because nothing else gets done in January during human trafficking awareness month. But that being said, this photo is not a lie. It was a beautiful scene.

There is also nothing that is a lie about this photo. She smiled and played while showing off her new outfit this morning before church. It was a beautiful moment. But this photo doesn’t show you that two hours earlier her first sentences as she woke up were, “I’m sad because my daddy died. It feels like he will never come back.”

What is my point? Don’t be jealous of other people. Be INSPIRED by them. You don’t know the struggles, insecurities, compulsions, needs, desires, or disappointments of the person whose feed makes you feel so inadequate and jealous. So to the extent they are able to see beauty, excitement, and adventure in their lives, learn to do the same in yours.

Be purposeful about seeing beauty or seeking adventure, or whatever it is your heart longs for.

Don’t waste energy envying someone one else’s life. It comes with someone else’s problems and you don’t want those. If you have trouble with this concept try looking at the last great photo you took and think about all the other things going on right before and right after that photo that no one can see. Understand that person is probably not showing you their whole life, but for the part they do share with you, whether in person or online, enjoy and be inspired. Enjoy their beauty, their travel, their adventures, and their good.

After all, as far as you know, she may be running away from me saying I ruined her life in this photo. She wasn’t in this case. It was a beautiful moment showing her a scene her daddy and I had enjoyed during snowmageddon. So enjoy, and may God gift you with eyes to see beauty in your life tomorrow.