If Only....

How many times do we let these little words steal our joy. I know I do it more than I'd like to admit. If only I were thinner, if only I were smarter, if only we had more money, if only I were more like this person or that person, if only I could do what so and so does, if only.............
It's easy to let these thoughts pop into our heads, and it takes quite an effort to get them out. This seems to be the case with anything worthwhile. It's easy to gain weight and difficult to lose. It's easy to envy others belongings, accomplishments, abilities, but takes more effort to consentrate on our own blessings. It's easy to be critical, but can be hard sometimes to extend grace to others as well as ourselves. The list goes on and on.
One thing I am trying to focus on is being in the moment...my moment, and to let God help me through if that particular moment is getting me down. One thing I've learned is that God never let's me down. Why then, should I ever wish I was something other than what He made me to be? I can improve what He gave me to work with, but I can never become something or someone I'm not. When I stop and think about it, I really don't want to be anyone else but me. Joyce Meyer, my "Spiritual Momma", once said that we should never wish to be someone else because we may not really want to do what they did to get where they are. So true. We never truly know what other people's struggles are, what they've been through, what they're going through. They may look like they have it all together and be falling apart on the inside. They may have tremendous success, but the road it took to get there may have been long and hard. They may have lots of money, but terrible relationships or incredible lonliness.
On the flip side we see examples of people who make the most with what they have and find true happiness. They aren't successful by the world's standards but do their part to make their world a better place and are a blessing to those around them. They may not have a fancy house but they have a home filled with laughter and love. You have to ask yourself what truly makes one *rich* in life? We all want better for ourselves and our children, and there's nothing wrong with that, but if our focus is on what we don't have we miss out on the richness we already possess. For me, having a Christ-centered life and being a wife and mother to a loving family I adore is the deepest treasure of my heart. I know God has wonderful things in store for us. As long as I keep moving in His plan for me, I will experience more than I could ever hope for. And when the "if onlys" try to creep there way in when I'm sifting through bills, preparing my mom's tax return and realizing that once again I forgot to pick up a new printer cartridge while friends and family are vacationing in exotic locales, I will look down at my kids smiling, yogurt covered faces and remind myself that truly, there is no where else I'd rather be.