Comparing your backstory

To others' highlight reels.

What a convicting statement. All of our new media, technology tantalizing, selfie saturated self promotion is a problem.

While watching a great online video shared on facebook today, I realized that I am guilty and charged of feeding both my pride and insecurities on the same banquet of bitterness.

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=W6GZ6LNX

How often do I scroll through countless photos of others' great lives, their highlighted, instagram filtered perfection, and think, "I want a life like that." Now certainly, mild social media envy of your Caribbean vacation isn't a sin. But day after day of wanting someone else's anything, well that points to a deeper longing in me than I knew I had. And because I am a personal responsibility nut, surely I must be doing something wrong if I can't be in Disney World as often as you are.

I have a great life. I love my life. But your highlights look AMAZINGLY BETTER than my everyday average. My long Mondays, late for carpool, forgetting to take my vitamins, messing up my paperwork (that I even have to do paperwork!), all seem far darker compared to your azure blue skies. Why?

For all of my happiness, all of my blessings, I am insecure. I think there's a chance that I may not have worked hard enough to do everything God intended for me to do to find all of the blessings he's put in place for me. Or, simply, why don't I deserve to be on a tropical beach today? What's wrong with me that Space Mountain isn't on my to-do list this week?

To be perfectly honest, there's lots wrong with me. But none of it is keeping me from living a great life. I am smack dab in the middle of all of the blessings God promised me. I am walking his path to my purpose and even on the darkest days, I am blessed.

So I share my blessings as a testimony to grace and forgiveness. And therein lies the other side of this coin, my own endless stream of awesomeness.

I wholeheartedly admit that my facebook feed looks like an adventure novel. It is squeaky clean fun where my house is always clean, my kid is always witty and my husband always adores me.

Oh, by the way, none of that is true.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So what does the picture painted by my public profile say? Does it speak of struggle, and the fight to overcome that struggle? Does it point to the realities of flat tires, messy pets, big arguments and too much homework? Does it show God's heart for all of his people?

I am afraid not. And I am challenged to change that.

Now I will be the first to say that I hate it when my feed fills up with pity party grandstanding. You know, the "I hate when people who pretend to be your friend...you know who you are." posts that make us all mildly uncomfortable wondering if they are talking about us.

So that's not how I see myself changing how you see me socially. Instead, I am going to publish and consume all social media from a different perspective.

"This snapshot of Marielle's life is just that, a highlight reel. There are dark, challenging and even less than honorable life moments not shown here. Please don't believe anyone's life is as squeaky clean as this page portrays. This life has been photoshopped for your entertainment and comfortable consumption."