You guys, can I get real with you for a minute? 

There are a lot of really cool people in this world. And there are a lot of really successful people. And beautiful people. And people with happy and successful marriages. And people with wonderful growing families.

There are also people who are at a point of life where they’re struggling. Maybe they don’t feel cool or successful or beautiful. Maybe their marriages are their biggest source of stress right now. Or maybe they’re having trouble getting pregnant. Or they can’t start a family right now because of life situations even though all their friends seem to be popping beautiful and healthy babies out right and left.

But you know what? That’s okay! It’s okay to be in a place in life where things aren’t going so great. Other people have hard times too. Even though you see all the good things going on in their lives (because those are the things they share on social media), they’re not immune to the same sort of struggles you’re going through right now.

It’s also okay to be in a different place in life than your friends who are even the same age as you. We are different people from different backgrounds with different families as well as wants, desires, gifts and abilities. We can’t expect our life to look the same as everyone else’s. That’s crazy talk, right?

But sometimes we think that way, don’t we? It’s okay to be different. It’s NOT okay to compare your different life to others’ and think you are lesser of a human being than they are. No! We are all human. We are all created equal. Some of us succeed in different areas than others and that’s okay. And expected.

But listen to me for a second… 

You are you. And nobody else is you. You are unique. You are important. You matter. You were fearfully and wonderfully made by the awesome creator of the universe! How cool is that? (click to tweet)

You are successful. Maybe not in the same ways as others. Maybe not even by our society’s definition of successful. But I guarantee you, you are successful in something.

You are beautiful. I don’t care what kind or color hair you have. I don’t care what color your eyes are. I don’t care what size you wear or whether your skin is clear. You are beautiful because you were made in God’s image.

You don’t need a spouse or a family to be fulfilled. For that matter, you don’t need anything to be fulfilled except Christ. He can and does fill any void in your life. We shouldn’t worry about earthly things like what I’ve talked about here, because they really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. All that matters is that you’re saved through His sacrifice on the cross and you’ll be with Him in eternity. Eternity is much bigger and more important than any earthly struggles you’re going through.

So stop comparing yourself, your life, and your marriage to others! 

(I’m preaching to myself as much as anyone else on this one).