Wow! Yesterday a few hours after posting my pictures of our Thanksgiving on my blog, I had gotten over 800 views! It’s pretty amazing to me how much people enjoy seeing pictures of what others do, how they spend their vacation, their free time, or their family time. But it’s true. They do. I do. We’re curious.
There is a danger, however, that I think we should be aware of. It’s the danger of making assumptions. We look at pictures on blogs, Facebook or Instagram, then we start processing what our eyes see. We might assume that:
- They never struggle with “stuff” like we do.
- They’re well-off.
- Their life is easier, better, or happier than mine.
- They wake up gorgeous and never have a “bad hair day.”
- Their family life is perfect.
- They never work.
- Their house is perfect.
- They have no inner struggles, hurts or losses.
I won’t go on, but I think you get the picture (pun intended!).
None of those statements are true, of course, but we often let ourselves go on believing it’s so until we’re ready to jump off the proverbial bridge. It’s at those moments that we need to do two things –
- Stop looking in-between the lines. This means to just look at the picture for its face value. Is their tree decorated beautifully? Don’t assume that “everything is always perfect at their house” just because their tree is lovely. What isn’t pictured is the mess from the ornament boxes, the pine needles on the floor everywhere and the crying child in another part of the house. No one has a perfect house all the time.
- Start thinking the truth. Everyone has difficulties, every marriage has to work through issues from time to time, everyone struggles and needs the Lord and His Word.
So, the next time you slide your way through pictures, be aware of what thoughts are going through your mind and “stop” and “start” with the right assumptions!
Lovingly,
RefreshHer 
This is so true, Denise, and so important to remember. I looked at your pictures yesterday and — even though I well know the truth of what you’re saying here — I found myself envious. I also found myself making several of the assumptions you mentioned. My family will never be perfect and nearly every day is a bad hair day (but I frequently remind myself to be thankful that I *have* hair!) and my house is slowly sliding into disarray because I am so busy with eldercare that I don’t have enough time at home to do more than the basics. I know it’s so important to think the truth — and assumptions and reading between the lines are not the truth! I guess my point is that I know these things are not right and yet I still found myself doing them. So this post today is very timely and important. Thank you for responding to your 800 views not with glee, but with a sense of responsibility to help people take photos at face value and start thinking the truth, not assuming. Your blog is such a blessing to me and I’m sure to many others!
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Thank you for your honest and kind comment. I wrote this because I believe we ALL deal with it from time to time; it’s the nature of our hearts. We have to stop and do what you did – be honest and change our thinking. 😀
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