Self-Pity vs. Gratitude

I think that one of the ways that the devil works on us stay-at-home-moms the most is through isolation. He'd like us to believe that nobody else struggles with little crazy things throughout their day in the way that we, ourselves, do. As soon as we begin sizing ourselves up next to Mrs. Happy Homemaker and comparing ourselves to her, the devil knows he's had a victory. But what a struggle it is to resist the comparison game! Even though we know it's a one way road to Pity City. You ever been there, ladies? Pity City's that place where we think that every other wife and mother has her life, her house, and family in perfect order, and that we're just a mess dreading discovery. I don't know about you, but I've been there before. I've been there this week! But, I've had to come to view Pity City as a temptation--not just as a trap of the devil of which I'm a victim. If I allow myself to play the victim, then I am much slower to get on a bus and find my way out of Pity City and head towards Gratitude Latitude (OK, just go with me on that one). So if I want to treat it as a temptation, what then? Then I have to believe I Cor 10:13 and look for that way out. I've been reading my J.B. Phillips New Testament more again lately. The way it's written there is, "No temptation has come your way that is too hard for flesh and blood to bear. But God can be trusted not to allow you to suffer any temptation beyond your powers of endurance. He will see to it that every temptation has its way out, so that it will be possible for you to bear it." Usually my "way out" is through gratitude--gratitude for the tremendous blessings He's allowed me to experience. It is amazing, isn't it, how a heart of thanksgiving and praise can transform our spirits and renew our minds?
Another way that we can help eachother avoid Pity City is by being authentic with one another. When we share our struggles and allow ourselves to be vulnerable, many times we've cast a ray of light into another mom's dreary moment. Suddenly the sense of isolation is squelched; all that is seen and felt is a kind hand extended in sympathy. Sometimes other moms have encouraged me without even knowing it simply because they're willing to be real. Now sometimes our children force vulnerable moments upon us by disclosing information without our consent. Don't you love those moments? :) Recently when I was picking Olivia up from dance class, I witnessed one such moment. A gal came in with her daughter, and they sat down in the foyer where they were taking off her street shoes and putting on her ballet slippers. The room was filled with other waiting moms and a few little children, and at a rather quiet moment, the little girl said loudly to her mom, "Why are you wearing that outfit again today? You wore that yesterday!" The mother's face flushed red, and she tried to quiet her child, and if a class full of 3 year old ballet students hadn't come flooding into the foyer at that moment, I was prepared to say, "Honey, I am feelin' ya! I am right there with you! Hey, if it's not dirty (and sometimes that rule gets bent a little, too) why not rewear it?" Another funny moment occurred on Wednesday that you can probably sympathize with if you're a mom. As I was dropping Olivia off at preschool in her halloween costume, another mom was walking her two children into preschool when we discovered she had her shirt on inside out. She laughed so hard, and all of us joined in with her, several of us throwing out the hand of sympathy through words like, "I've been there, sister...I AM there...etc.!" Life gets joyfully crazy sometimes. Let's try to avoid the temptation towards self-pity and instead head towards gratitude. Let's pray about opportunities to encourage one another. Maybe you have a story to encourage us!