{"id":31,"date":"2015-06-10T20:53:40","date_gmt":"2015-06-10T20:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/?p=31"},"modified":"2015-06-10T20:53:40","modified_gmt":"2015-06-10T20:53:40","slug":"running-your-own-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2015\/06\/running-your-own-race.html","title":{"rendered":"Running Your Own Race"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is hard not to compare yourself to others.\u00a0 Most of us naturally do that from time to time.\u00a0 My first marriage ended in divorce, and at times I have looked wistfully at my friends who will be celebrating their 20th<\/sup> wedding anniversaries and thought, \u201cWhy couldn\u2019t that have been me?\u201d\u00a0 I don\u2019t know the answer to that question.\u00a0\u00a0 What I do know is that in the end God blessed me with a second husband who treats me beautifully and loves me completely.\u00a0 He is kind, generous, easy-going and patient.\u00a0 So why should I complain?\u00a0 My path has led me to a marriage that is everything I could have ever hoped for.<\/p>\n

When we are tempted to compare ourselves to others, it is important to remember that we each are running our own race \u2013 alone<\/em>.\u00a0 The race I\u2019ve run has been incredibly different from those around me.\u00a0 At times I\u2019ve felt that I was really doing well.\u00a0 At other times, my life has looked like a train wreck when everyone else seemed to have it all together.<\/p>\n

Comparison doesn\u2019t work because we weren\u2019t meant to each live exactly the same life.\u00a0 The key is to have faith that God will guide you to the path that is right for you<\/em>.\u00a0 In my own life, I\u2019ve learned to accept that God\u2019s ways are not my ways.\u00a0 So while I might wish that my path was an easy, obstacle-free road, I\u2019ve realized that my journey was not meant to be straight or perfect.<\/p>\n

We all need to run the race that God intended for us.\u00a0 And we need to understand that some parts of that race aren\u2019t going to be very glamorous.\u00a0 I am a mother, and one part of my race involved two years of changing diapers and never getting a full night\u2019s sleep.\u00a0 I am divorced, so another part of my race was filled with pain \u2013 the emotional, weeping on the inside while putting a big smile on the outside kind of pain.\u00a0 But other parts of my race have been exciting, travel-filled, amazing adventures.<\/p>\n

Now that I am older, I run at a calmer, more introspective speed.\u00a0 The race I run today is less focused on what I want to get out of life and is more focused on the legacy I wish to leave behind.\u00a0 And from time to time, I still run from my youthful demons of impatience and criticism and attempt to run toward maturity, compassion and selflessness.<\/p>\n

So the next time you are tempted to compare yourself to others, make running your own race your new mantra.\u00a0 Realize that there is no one else like you.\u00a0 So when you give your best to the world, you won\u2019t be imitating anyone else, and you\u2019ll be running your own race without competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is hard not to compare yourself to others.\u00a0 Most of us naturally do that from time to time.\u00a0 My first marriage ended in divorce, and at times I have looked wistfully at my friends who will be celebrating their 20th wedding anniversaries and thought, \u201cWhy couldn\u2019t that have been me?\u201d\u00a0 I don\u2019t know the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nRunning Your Own Race - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Running Your Own Race - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is hard not to compare yourself to others.\u00a0 Most of us naturally do that from time to time.\u00a0 My first marriage ended in divorce, and at times I have looked wistfully at my friends who will be celebrating their 20th wedding anniversaries and thought, \u201cWhy couldn\u2019t that have been me?\u201d\u00a0 I don\u2019t know the…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2015\/06\/running-your-own-race.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Your Morning Cup of Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-06-10T20:53:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Meerabelle Dey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Running Your Own Race - 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