Gratitude Day 598

Psalm 119:37 – Take away my foolish desires and let me find life by walking with you.

There are certain things that I believe I stand for: faith in God, loving my spouse, working hard, serving God’s kingdom, following the call God has in my life. You get the drift.

Yet, try as I might to keep focused on these things, vanity creeps into my daily life:

• The photo of the very fit person who I wished I looked like.
• The person with the beautiful new car that I would love to drive.
• The perfectly styled home that I dream to have.
• The beautiful and tasty meal that causes people to ohh and ahh.

The list can and should go on and on. But you get the drift.

It happens so easily and quickly, I barely notice it. I see a photo or a headline on the internet. Before I know it, I’ve clicked over to the site and checking it out. No, I don’t “need” whatever the site is promoting. And I certainly have more constructive things to do with my time.

We live in this comparison game that never seems to cease. We look around us and yearn for what someone else has. Crazy thing? Someone is yearning for what we have. Seriously.

When we are tired, distraught, stressed or bored, the lure of vanity seems so much more enticing. And when we chase those little pieces of vanity that seem so appealing, we often let the vanity thing take precedence over one of our values.

When we can name the vanity areas of our lives, we begin the process of acknowledging them. And then, maybe we can begin to release them and keep our values in check.

Today, what is one vanity that you find yourself repeating regularly in your life? Why is this important to you? How does this challenge one of your values? How important is it to you to try and have less emphasis on this vanity item?

It probably won’t go away today. But naming it is a first step.

For being able to name a vanity issue that takes away from one of my values, I am grateful.

Blessings –

Dianne

Holy God – Please take away my foolish desires. May I discover the fullness of walking with You by my side.  Amen.

Stop by diannedeatonvielhuber on Instagram today for a few more thoughts about today’s Lenten topic.

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