Just a Quick Personal Update Here

Just a quick update on my current medical status, it does seem like the hemorrhoid has reduced in size. Since I can’t physically see it to compare before and after, all I could do was try to feel it with my fingers when I am in the shower each morning. Though it may have reduced in size, I think it has also somehow exposed the tear near/around the area, so when I tried to apply the cream this morning, it really stung. I was still kinda feeling it moments ago. The pain meds isn’t a magical pill. They seem to require some time to really take full effect.

I apologise if I am using a part of my daily bread to do a personal medical status update. These days, while I am trying to be more effective and productive with my work, it means a little less time blogging. So I’ll share an update whenever I can.

⁴ Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. ⁵ For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

Galatians 6:4-5 [NLT]

Alright, let’s get back to our daily bread proper. Today’s passage also comes from Galatians. It does seem like sometimes we don’t have to look very far to find God speaking to us about our daily lives and helping us to see things the way that He sees it, or to understand the world and the circumstances surrounding our lives from His perspective.

As I’m currently still in my own medical recovery stage, everything that I am trying to accomplish on a daily basis feels slower and somewhat limited. In some ways, I know that I am not as productive or as effective as I normally am and that can be a little frustrating for me. So that’s me comparing myself to myself. I guess it’s okay. Except that I am also trying to remind myself to be more patient with myself these couple of days. Until I reach full recovery, or at least 90% better, there will always be a little bit of challenge getting around during the day.

The Highly Competitive World We Live in Today

That leads me to my opening topic for today’s daily bread reflections. I want to talk about the world that we all live in. Regardless of the country, city or societal cultures and norms, we will all experience competition in our lives at some point. It could be in school, it could be in sports (especially in sports), it could be at work, it could be in our businesses, and yes, in some cultures, even our parents like to occasionally compare us with our other siblings, cousins, or even the third grand-aunt’s son who’s a doctor or lawyer, or something.

Whatever it may be, I fully understand what it is like to have to constantly live in a world where we’re constantly trying to measure ourselves with other people’s yardstick.

This is something that we ought to stop doing. I know, it’s always easy to talk about doing something like that, but when it is always constantly staring us in our faces everyday, sometimes we can forget to remind ourselves to stop comparing ourselves with others.

Everyone Shares an Occasionally Similar, Yet Often Very Different Journeys

In my own life experiences so far, God has given me the opportunity to experience it in a way that I could finally understand that there will always be some similarities to the kinds of experiences we share in life. This is where I learned one of the most invaluable lessons in life – EMPATHY. At the very same time, I have also been shown that while there are always similarities between us, our live’s journeys and experiences can also be very very different. And because it is so different at times, it is important that we know how to see it that way. It is why I believe that it is not our responsibility to try and make others understand what we are facing or going through. Truth is, not everybody will be able to fully understand your challenges. Same way, you will not be able to fully comprehend or understand what it is like for them to go through what they have gone through.

This is why having empathy is so important.

Now, once we are able to both understand and accept the similarities and differences in our live’s journeys and experiences, we can then begin to focus on our own growth and development.

Everyone Moves According to Their Own Pace

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 [NKJV]

We have come to the final section of our daily bread reflections for today. Now that we have managed to accept that while there are shared similarities between our lives, there are always going to be stark differences too, the next step is for us to recognize that everybody in this life will move and progress at their own pace/speed. Some of us may experience that initial success and breakthrough faster than others, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they will always get to have that success and breakthrough. Some of us may get to our success/breakthroughs much later, and that is totally okay too. Remember, this is not a competition between each other. Just think about it, while others might be able to become a front-end developer right after finishing their university or diploma, but this journey has taken me nearly two decades to get here. If I had to compare myself with other people’s journeys, I would’ve long given up a long time ago.

But I am grateful that God has been with me along this journey, giving me the occasional reminder that my journey is my own and I should be focused on walking my own path and not look at other people’s path in life. Whatever journey/path you may be on today, I hope to encourage you by saying this, “Don’t worry about them. Leave them be. All you have to do today is to focus on what you can do to be better than you were yesterday, last week, last month, and last year. Also, it really doesn’t matter how quickly you get there. Truly. What matters is that you don’t give up and you keep persevering. If you can do that, you will get there eventually. And yes, you will.”

Personal prayer for Today

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for speaking to me today through Your word. Thank You for this daily reminder that our lives, while sharing many similarities at times, we also have very different journeys and experiences from each other.

Thank You for reminding me not to compare myself with others, and to focus on my own work, my own development and growth. Thank You for reminding me through my own journey that everybody moves and progress at a different pace. Some can get there in 6 months, and some could get there in 20 years. But what really matters is that we will eventually get to where we need to be as long as we persevere and not give up.

I vow to give You all of the praise and glory. In Jesus’ name I thank You for always encouraging me, motivating me and keeping me from giving up.

Amen.