It all looks so perfect….people’s social media posts with photos of their fabulous trips and their perfectly gorgeous family picture photos where every child is sitting up straight and smiling into the camera. There are photos of people’s beautiful new sports car they just bought, and photos of their perfectly decorated dinner table for the holiday party they are hosting, and photos of their latest animal they got in a single shot during their hunt, and photos of the perfectly frosted cake they made for their child’s birthday, and the photos of their freshly baked homemade loaves of bread they’ve just made.

And it’s not just those images on social media that people’s lives can appear so perfect… – it’s those perfect looking families who arrive at church on Sunday morning with every child in the family’s hair perfectly combed and curled and every family members outfits perfectly pressed.

It is so easy to see all those things and think that everyone else’s lives are so much more perfect than our own. It’s so easy to see those things and think that everyone else’s life is so much better than yours. And as a result people beat themselves down and they pressure themselves to try and live up to an impossible standard they think everyone else has achieved except them, believing if they don’t achieve that then they just aren’t good enough.

That is why I LOVE people who are willing to be open and real and who acknowledge that life isn’t prefect and they themselves aren’t perfect. The fact is that we all have flaws and weaknesses and we are all working on fixing those.

We shouldn’t beat ourselves up or think we aren’t good enough because we try and compare ourselves to the seemingly perfect lives we think everyone else has, because it’s simply not the case. The reality is that in the minutes before that perfect family photograph was taken the kids were likely shoving each other and calling each other names until the mother threatened the kids to sit up and smile or they’d be grounded for a month. And the reality is that the photos of the new sports car were likely preceded by periods of not knowing if they’d have enough money just to keep a roof over their heads. And the reality is that the fancy trips likely had a few marital disputes that occurred on them. Because the reality is that real life isn’t perfect for anyone. Real life is full of struggles and real people have insecurities and weaknesses and fears. Reality is that none of our lives are perfect and that is OKAY!

None of us should try to compare our lives to what we think anyone else’s life is based on their social media posts or how put together they look the one day of the week you see them because none of that gives the real story of the struggles they actually face. Rest assured that their lives aren’t perfect either.

My life is far from perfect and heaven knows I have a million weaknesses to improve. Also, I don’t bake my own bread, I buy it in the store, and I use paper plates more than real ones…but I’ve decided that parts okay because I’m quite certain God won’t keep me out of heaven for buying my bread and serving it on a paper plate. 🙂

~Amy Rees Anderson