Book Club: Hope Unfolding ~ Chapter 7: Don't Run Her Race

Welcome to Book Club!

...just because we see part of someone's story does not mean we know all there is to tell - Becky Thompson

The premise of this chapter is simple. Don't judge. We can not know all there is to know about another person. We've often got no idea what battles other people are facing. 

Becky uses humorous stories to illustrate that we only see a glimpse of other people's lives, and we don't really know anything other than the few moments that we see. Yet so often we fall into the trap of thinking that we know other people really well because of the few moments that we witnessed or the stories that we heard. There is always so much more to the story, that we know nothing about. Perhaps instead of judgement we need to extend to others the same grace that we would like to receive ourselves.

The next time you go out and come across another mom, don't just see her moment. Try to really see her. Try to remember that you are on the same team - Becky Thompson

If we believe that we know all there is to know about someone then we are putting that person in a box. We're saying they'll never be anything other than what we believe them to be. We set them up to meet certain expectations which may actually be unrealistic or unfair. It can be difficulty for people to break away from expectations, and it can be difficult for us to see them differently once we have made assumptions about them.

Sometimes we also compare our own lives to the lives we imagine other people are living. We can get really discouraged when we look at another person's life and try to change our own life in order to match theirs. But when we do this, we are often comparing the best we see in others to the worst we see in ourselves. This is not a fair comparison and we will always fall short. We end up spending more time worrying about what we are doing or how we look rather than about things that really matter.

We need to stop comparing and paying attention to what everyone else is doing. We are all unique, running our own races and facing our own battles. We are not like the woman sitting beside us and nor should we expect to be. We've each had different experiences, interests, training etc. leading up to this point, and so we should be different. We each have something unique to offer the world and people around us. We need to embrace our differences not compare or judge them.

I don't have to be jealous or envious or defensive. I will choose grace for others and for myself. We are both enough - Becky Thompson.

What did you think of this chapter?

Nicki

We are currently reading through Hope Unfolding: Grace-Filled Truth for the Momma's Heart by Becky Thompson. Pick up your copy today (I recommend you check out Booko to compare prices at various retailers)