Dear Me….

Every wonder what you would say to your younger self, about your life now? Would it center around the mistakes, to help her not make them? Would it offer encouragment to let her know that she is stronger than she realizes?

I realized the other day, that my oldest is a really close mini me. The struggles she faces, as she is going through her tweens, reminds me so much of myself. The comparison trap, I thought we would avoid due to homeschooling, is in full swing. Comparing how she handles life’s struggles to that of her friends’. Trying to figure out why she cannot rein in her emotions as well as them.

I was her growing up. In fact, I can still be her at times. Comparing someone’s Highs to my Lows. Doesn’t make much sense, but we do it. Social media has caused us to compare a doctored up snapshot of someone’s life to our mom bun and goldfish cracker filled kitchen floor. We begin to feel less than, as a mom, wife, and friend.

It is a lie, if we sat for a brief few minutes, we would see that. But, the damage was done in that moment, that we didn’t take those thoughts captive. When we played the comparison game for even a few minutes.

I am currently on a hiatus/fast from facebook and instagram for this very reason. To gain back, what I allowed social media to steal. My identity.

As I get ready to start another day with my three girls, I am challenging myself to see my identity in a new way. Not in my lack, but in my strengths. Then, funneling that challenge down to my daughters. As women, I feel we tend to struggle more with identity than men. When we make mistakes, or have to ask for help, often times we can see it as weakness. I am working on changing that mentality.

What about you? Who are you? What are your strengths? Celebrate those today!