Last week I wrote about the port-a-potty in our front yard. It's still there. And will be there for some time to come. When two friends visited, I joked about "Keeping up with the Choates." (For those who don't know, Choate is my last name.)
At different times, I've written about the dangers of trying to keep up with other people. A popular reality show, "Keeping up with the Kardashians," comes to mind. I don't even know these people, but the whole concept strikes me as wrong. Why would I want to keep up with people I don't know?
Though I take a certain measure of pride in the fact that I have never watched this program, I cannot deny trying to keep up with other people, and, to my shame, of measuring myself against them. I look at one friend and think, "She's so much more talented than I am." With another friend, I feel a traitorous envy, "She's sold more books than I have." And so it goes. She's thinner than I am. She's prettier than I am. She has a bigger house than I do.
Occasionally I allow these thoughts to rampage through my mind with insidious results. I indulge in an exclusive pity party where I am the only invited guest. I rave and rant against the unfairness of life. I pout. (On a three-year-old, pouting can be cute; on a woman of my mature years, it loses all semblance of cuteness.)
So what's my point for today? Trying to keep up with others is a wasteful activity, draining me of energy and time and self-esteem. Remembering that the only Person I need to keep up with is the Lord sets me back on track.
So, for today (and again), I am grateful for lessons from a port-a-potty.
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