Assumptions

I'm an ordinary person. In seconds I could give you a list of my glaring faults. I have nothing for a person to be intimidated by, yet I've been told before one gets to know me, I seem unapproachable. Last week an anonymous commenter on this blog said they were glad to know I was human. Sheesh. What kind of vibe am I sending out? What kind of rose-colored glasses are people looking through and where can I get some?

What about you? What do you say without words?

Lots of women don't LOOK like they need friends. They come off very confident, very sure, very together. But are they? Really? I can't tell you the number of "together" women I've talked to who are lonely and seeking deep, meaningful relationships.

Are we guilty of assuming too much about each other? Why do we compare ourselves and come up short every time? Why are we so easily intimidated? Why should a size 12 think she's not in the same league as a size 6? Why do we come to conclusions about people we don't know? What do we base those opinions on? Is it fair to write ourselves off as inferior for things we only see on the outside?

She may have a beautiful wardrobe, but it doesn't mean she's feeling as good as she looks. In fact, most women I find very beautiful don't see it in themselves at all. She may look as if she has a slew of friends, but what if everyone thought that about her and no one called?

Every woman I've ever met can point out ten faults for every strength admired by another. Behind every pretty face is a person with thoughts and feelings and insecurities. If we started looking at each other through that knowledge instead of envy, would it change how we related to each other? Would we let our guards down? Would we reach out more?

I'm guilty of getting ready in the morning and sighing as I take that final look in the mirror (for reasons I will not mention--why would I identify my flaws for you?), but I don't think I'm the only one. The "together" woman sitting across the aisle from me in church probably did the same thing, as did the beautiful woman singing special and the lovely woman who has an easy hug and smile for everyone. The pastor's wife did it and the lady in choir with the perfect nails did it and so did the pretty young thing with the hunky husband as well as the driver of that expensive new car.

We need to quit letting Satan fill our minds with these false assumptions. The truth is we all feel inadequate. We all wish we were better. We are all in the same boat. Let's start being on the same team instead of sizing up the competition.