Have you ever been camping and had tent envy?
Our family just went camping last week for the first time in 4 years. And we had a brilliant time...but I experienced a severe cast of tent envy. Well actually tarp envy!!!
Anyone who has been camping before knows that it is a common practice to check out other people's setup. You know that when you arrive, people will be watching you. You can feel their eyes on you as you set up your tent and they are watching how you go about this process and also checkout what sort of camping gear you have. And then you do the exact same thing when other people arrive after you...you sit back and watch them setup their camping spot!
It has been 4 years since our last camping trip so we did not have a lot of camping gear, however, we had enough to make do. We had two tents, sleeping bags, a gas cooker, a weber bbq, a table and chairs and a friend of ours generously offered us his tarp to use as our shelter for our eating area.
But when we got there to setup, we realized we only had 4 tent poles to hold the tarp up and being such a heavy tarp and a windy campsite, this was a recipe for trouble. James, my husband, spent most of the time over 2 days adjusting the poles and tightening the straps until eventually on third day we were there, a lovely old man waltzed over to inform us that there was a wind of 30knots coming through and we should really just take it down.
Meanwhile, over yonder on another campsite, there was a couple who had set up the day after us. I had watched him intently in his setting up because the more I observed him, the more I was in awe. In fact, I was mesmerized! This man displayed such organisation, efficiency and ease in his setting up, he was clearly a camping expert! His tarp had a crossbeam, many strong tent poles and ropes and within a matter of 15 minutes or so - it was in place - and it was staying there! Whilst we were experiencing continuous trouble with our tarp, this couple were chilling back and relaxing!! Not once in the entire 4 days we were there did he have to adjust the ropes, move poles, or check its stability..not even during the 30knot wind gust!
I wanted his setup!!! I had a severe case of tent and tarp envy!
So...when does admiration become envy? When does looking to other people's example become jealousy? When do we move from being inspired to being green?
Often we can look to other people's lives and be envious of where they are at and the lives they are living and the setup they have, not realizing that we are really telling God that the life He has given us and all that He has blessed us with is not good enough. Our green eyes can lead to a resentful heart without our realization.
In our jealousy and wishfulness for someone else's life, we miss the point. When we spoke to our fabulous tarp man, he informed us that his setup was the result of years of camping failures, mishaps and experiences that have led him to learn how to create a great camping experience. This is the point that we miss!! What we fail to realize is that the setup others have in their life is because they are in a different season to us, they have different experiences to us and God has given them a different purpose to us. We miss this because we envy what they have in the present and neglect what they have been through in the past.
Don't envy the life that someone else has. They are just on a different journey to you and in a different season to you. They have learnt from their experiences, their mishaps, their failures. Yes, the bible tells us to look wisely to other people's example. But it also warns us against envy. It can harden your heart and make you lose focus.
God has created you unique and special. There is no one else like you and there never will be. No one else is in the same season as you...similar ...but not the same. Because you are unique.
So..learn. Learn from others, learn from your mistakes, mishaps, and experiences - but most of all, learn from the word of God that is your guide to a great setup. Do this...and you will be able to live and enjoy a great inspirational life that is created from experience, knowledge and wisdom - after all, wisdom is just knowledge applied in practice with experience. Do this and you will set an example to others and they will look to you for how well you are setup for life!
A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones. Proverbs 14:30
"Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity." 1 Timothy 4:12
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