Playing the comparison game can sap your verve for parenting. Dr. Tim Kimmel, author of Grace Based Parenting, says, “[Parents] often measure their effectiveness as parents by how they compare to others. They monitor other families and serve as a kind of ‘morals police,’ measuring these other parents’ effectiveness by how well they meet their arbitrary and tighter standard. These parents have a knee jerk reaction: They are often quick to stand in judgment if some other set of parents falls short.”
Comparing either makes us feel defeated (because we don’t measure up to someone else’s standard) or haughty (because we puff ourselves up for being a better parent than someone else). How have you compared yourself to other parents? What was the result? What would it look like if you chose instead to focus on what God has done in your heart?
This is part of Mary E. DeMuth’s guided journal, “Creating the Family You Always Wanted,” a 12-week journey in Christian parenting. Twice a week, you’ll receive a new journaling prompt encouraging you to think about your family–and God–in new ways. Use these prompts in your own journal or in group discussion. If you’re joining this journal mid-way through, you can start journaling at any time, and stay subscribed at the end, when the journal will restart and you can receive the prompts that you missed.
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