Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”  2 Cor 12:9

I didn’t sleep much last night, thanks to leg and foot cramps that kept me trying to work out the pain.  In God’s providence, however, I had time to think about what I read right before bed.  In her book (see link below) Melissa Kruger examines how we envy different aspects of others’ lives.

Link to book here – Envy of Eve

We say things like: I wish I had Susie’s house and Jane’s well-mannered boys and Becky’s body and a supervisor as understanding as Ellen.   And Pat’s church seems vibrant and Joan’s husband always helps out with housecleaning!

But what we DON’T realize when we fantasize about creating for ourselves a ‘greener lawn’ from the composite parts of our friends’ lives is this:

Each of those ‘better’ life circumstances is likely to be the compensatory grace God has given someone to enable them to endure a thorn in the side.  Yes, we might look wistfully at Susie’s well decorated home, but would we welcome her rocky marriage?  Maybe the beauty of her home provides the reminder she needs, in these trying days, of God’s love for her.

I often ponder Joni Eareckson Tada’s living as a quadriplegic these past 40+ years.  God has not answered prayers for physical healing.  But He has provided strength to endure via the satisfaction of an international disabilities ministry that has changed the lives of thousands.

So last night God DID give me endurance and a good attitude by the Spirit’s calling to mind the His many other tailor-made-to-me blessings!  Just this NEW consideration alone lifts me up – definitely worth one sleepless night!