Dog Versus Fish

"Find contentment in who you are as both a woman and a mom through Jesus and how He sees you."

“I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless - like chasing the wind.” Ecclesiastes 1:14 (NLT)

Do you remember growing up and being told to be yourself? To not change who you are and that God made each of us special and unique?

Why does that change all of a sudden once we become adults - and even more so when we become moms? Cultural motherhood is all about comparison. It is about seeing what others are doing and then thinking you are doing it all wrong because your life and your kids are not the same. We ultimately think that we are the ones doing it wrong because it is not how everyone else is doing it.

I lived this comparison trap in quite a comical way. Let’s call this…dog versus fish. My kids were begging for a dog. I gave in and said we could get a dog. We were a week away from picking up the dog and I was still having second thoughts, but I couldn’t take this away from my kids. I told myself that I was not giving my kids a real childhood because they didn't have a dog like all the other families. The day to pick up the dog came, and I couldn’t do it. I felt it in me that it would not be a good fit for our family. The kids took it like champs, but instead asked for a fish - to which I laughed and humbly agreed. The dog was my comparison. The fish was my contentment.

I realized through that situation that I fell into the comparison trap. I thought that since everyone else was doing it, I would be wrong if I didn’t do it. Our verse today says that comparing ourselves and chasing the things of this world is “like chasing the wind” and we will never find true contentment by doing that. Solomon compared everything under the sun, and you know what he found? That it all was meaningless!

When we compare, we become discontent. When we base our lives on the world’s standards we find that it’s all meaningless. However, when we find our worth in the One who created us, it is in that moment that we find true contentment.

God has placed us in this time and this position as a mom for a reason. That is not meaningless. Find contentment in who you are as both a woman and a mom through Jesus and how He sees you. He has called you to this life and He has called you to be this mom to your children. Be confident with who He has created you to be and have contentment in the life that He has called you to. Be okay with getting the fish instead of the dog because God has made you and your family differently - and that is okay!

Action Step:

• Spend some time thinking about the areas where you are comparing your life to others and trying to live up to those “standards”. How can you change your way of thinking to realize that you can be content in the way that God has made you? Spend some time in prayer, thanking God for the life, the family and the blessings that He has entrusted to you. What is holding you back from being content?

Written by Kara, content mom of 2