Comparing

I'm learning that no one has it all together. I'm  often guilty of comparing myself to other mothers. I'll start thinking that another mom is perfect, and then I'll start having thoughts like, "I bet she never yells at her kids like I sometimes do. I bet she would know how to handle this argument between her children. I'm sure her kids never throw tantrums over not getting to watch a video. Heck, her kids probably don't even know what a video is because she's the perfect mother and would never dream of exposing her children to such mindless entertainment."

Yes I suppose I can be a little irrational at times.

I'm thinking it's not that the mothers I look up to have "it" together, I'm thinking they probably just have more experience than I do. I mean when I had my first baby, I compared myself to every mother I knew. I had no idea what I was doing and I needed some ideas. Now I don't even think about what other mothers are doing with their baby's because for the most part I've learned what works for me and my babies. But I've never had a four year old, I've never home schooled, and I've never had several small children so now my temptation is to compare myself to women who have done these things.

But the problem with comparing is we tend to think someone else is doing things perfectly when the truth is no one is perfect. We all make mistakes and need grace. What works for one family might not work for ours.

We should learn from each other. And we should definitely be learning from older women. But we should never be so caught up in comparing ourselves to other women we miss out on learning what works for our families.

I'm linking up with A Wise Woman Builds Her Home.