One of the things I’ve tried to avoid in life is envy. To suggest I am jealous would mean I’m not satisfied with the life I have. I work hard with the intent to always move forward in every aspect of my life and am rarely influenced to make decisions based on what someone else has, does, thinks or says.

Last year “adulting” visited our household and decided to stay for a while. It was a year of having to make numerous household purchases that were unexpected but very necessary. In addition to the purchases we still had to provide for a child that had educational and athletic opportunities presented to him that would benefit him greatly in the future. As a result of this, our eating out became limited and my “Wish List” became almost nonexistence. Our idea of vacationing did not look as it had done in the past. We had to try to mix business with pleasure for the sake of having a vacation.

As I glanced through social media during this time, I started to let jealousy and envy creep in. I wanted to travel as I had done in the past. I wanted my “wish list” to be complete. But none of that was happening. Then I came across a blogger that posed the question, “Do my followers think I brag and boast about the things I have?” I immediately responded, “NO!” I shared with her I felt she was very transparent and that she was simply sharing what she liked and not for the sake of boasting. She replied by saying she had always been a handbag and shoe fanatic and those were the things she really loved so that’s what she chose to share. She went on to say that due to some changes in her household, she and her family no longer vacationed the way they used to and they no longer went out to eat because she was not going to put her family in a bind trying to “show out” for social media.

This message was God sent because it reminded me we all have struggles. And the idea of not having the opportunity for fine dining and extravagant vacations was clearly not as bad as not having a meal at all or a place to stay. I had to reflect on the many blessings I did have and really ask for forgiveness for overlooking how fortunate I was. The lesson learned at that time was best summarized in this quote, “I believe that whatever comes at a particular time is a blessing from God.” A. R. Rahman No matter how bad or unfortunate things seemed at that time, I had to remind myself God was still in the blessing business. And although I didn’t have some of the things I wanted, I had more than I could ever deserve.