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struggling to love my old socks


Last night my friend Tina threw a BBQ off. Her husband likes to smoke......no, not what you are thinking......meat. He spent the day making a brisket and then they hit 3 of the most popular local BBQ places. She then put them all in cups, labeled with letters so we didn't know which was which and we had to taste and rank them. It felt a bit like the old school Pepsi/Coke taste tests ( whatever happened to those??).....but was fun and yummy. Todd came out the winner and I went home with a stomach ache. ( me and red meat are not friends).
Several partygoers mentioned something a bit odd. If they had bought meat from any of those places and put it out we all would have been happy. It would have tasted like BBQ and surely some of us would have commented on how good it was, even the one that came in last place. Side by side we noticed all kinds of things. One even seemed to taste like old socks to me, next to the others. Like I said, if I didn't have Todd's prize winning BBQ to compare it to directly, I would have been perfectly happy eating the old sock BBQ. Comparison seems to get me in trouble. Suddenly things that were perfectly fine before don't seem to be good enough. I worry that my son isn't talking enough when I compare him to Maddy who can speak in entire paragraphs. I don't feel skinny enough when I try on my friend's pants. I am definantly not pretty enough when I look at those dumb magazines. My home isn't big enough when I compare it to the one next to me. My clothes seem dull and old when I compare it to people I work with. Suddenly everything I have, that I used to be content with seems like old socks.
Paul, you know the guy who was knocked off his donkey, blinded, beaten, improsoned, mocked among other things, seemed to know the secret to being content.
Phil 4:12-13 "12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength."
I also suggest that Todd tone down his BBQ, my friends eat a lot, excersize less, clean less, and wear clothes from Goodwill.

Comments

Alyssa said…
It's those sideways glances that get me in trouble as well. If I'd just look upward instead of outward, I'd be in much better shape heartwise.
Sars said…
Love the parallel. Thanks for the kick in the butt.
spaghettipie said…
I miss you! When does school get out for the summer again??

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