Insecurities

Yesterday, chatting to my friend Ian about the curse of the ‘compare our children’ competition…

‘Sophie speaks in sentences; she’s only 9 months old…’ ‘Josh’s 5 – he can do long multiplication…’ ‘Harriet read all of the Harry Potter books before she started school…’ so it continues… sport, music, hobbies, GCSEs, A-levels, universities, marriage, grandchildren…

Many parents are understandably proud of their children; their insensitivity can make others feel inadequate and insecure.

Nothando Osondu writes about self-esteem:‘…we start to compare ourselves with others in search for a sense of belonging and acceptance but instead we got trapped in fear of not being good enough.

We compare:

• Our careers to others who appear to have it all under control
• Our relationships with others on social media
• Our bodies and features
• Our lifestyle choices…

…Living from this place of insecurities, fear, comparison, and pride can be mentally, emotionally and physically demanding…

Craig David and Nicola Roberts (Girls Aloud) are backing an NHS campaign encouraging people struggling with their mental-health to seek support. Featuring words from The Beatles song ‘Help’…

I never needed anybody’s help in any way.
But now these days are gone, I’m not so self-assured,
…But every now and then I feel so insecure

Help me if you can, I’m feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground…

My Bible-reading… ‘Exodus’: Joseph’s brothers moved to Egypt… years passed…‘…the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous so the land was filled with them.’

The Egyptian Pharoah makes the Israelites slaves, and orders the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah (great names!) to kill all baby boys…

Powerful Pharoah feels threatened, insecure; humble Shiphrah and Puah feel confident and secure. They have faith in their God; they don’t carry out Pharoah’s orders.

Musing… my insecurities… where they come from, why I feel them… helping each other with our insecurities… security coming not from power or position, but through simple faith.