To the girl who struggles to encourage or cheer on other girls,

Me too. I have a jealous heart. I have to talk to my Father about it daily. I struggle to pass out compliments, to say "congratulations." I always am feeling inferior to her. How can this be when I KNOW God has given me the spiritual gift of encouragement? Why can't I encourage those that I even feel jealous of?

Inferior to her. What does that even mean? I feel lower in rank, status, and quality compared to other girls. This is an all too familiar phrase that echoes and echoes in my heart. I WALLOW in this phrase. I am always feeling inferior to "her." No, she doesn't have a name and she may change from day to day, but my comparison to her is not my friend.

I want her hair, her eyes, her Instagram account, her sarcasm, her clothes, her talents, her outgoing personality, etc. It always leaves me feeling rejected and lonely and left out. These are the last things that Jesus has called me to be. He has called me to be a woman who walks confidently in His standard of beauty and truth.

So how do I overcome this?

First I have to realize that Jesus never called me to be her, he has called me to be me. He has designed me for a very specific purpose. I couldn't fulfill that same purpose if I was her because she has her own purpose. Then I must start walking in that truth. This means that I cheer her on in HER purpose. I am for her because she is carrying out God's plan for her life and we are on the same team. We both want Jesus to be glorified in every aspect of our lives. We get to rejoice in the fact that we are uniquely designed in the image of God together. We get to let one another know that we are loved and known by our sweet Father. Now, I get to no longer feel inferior to her because my focus has shifted. I see the eternal perspective. I hear Him calling me enough and loved and wonderfully made. I have become confident in what He believe about me. So now I may believe it about others.

We are walking along side one another now using encouraging words with a healthy perspective and a focused heart.

So if this is you too, I understand. I know these feelings all too well. I'm sure that I will always have to remind myself of this truth. The beautiful thing is that we have become aware of our feelings and have a desire to fix them. Find the words with me today to leave an encouraging note of the windshield of a friend who you are proud of or leave an Instagram comment on the account of another friend you might too think is struggling to feel like enough and let her know of her beauty.

We may only become better as we practice.

From the girl who is also struggling.