Entertaining angels...

I love Pinterest! When I first heard about it, I didn't really know much about it at all...how addicting it could be, or how WONDERFUL.

Because, OH THE IDEAS!

(I'm sure it will come as no surprise to know that I have about 9,000 recipes on my "food" board. Ha!)

When I first started on Pinterest, I got a message from a dear friend. She was concerned about Pinterest and how it was affecting...or could affect...young women. ALL women, but mainly the younger ones who are just starting out in life and marriage. You know...you're all excited about having a new place, or your new place with your new husband...and you have wedding gifts to use. You want to fix everything up!

Gotta admit...I didn't really think about it like that. My main concern up to that point was that Pinterest could be a HUGE time-sucker for me if I let it. Now that I have the (used) iPHONE, I can lay on the couch...or in bed...and just look and "pin" away! It's so fun! I'm, like, "oooo" and "ahhh" and "why didn't I think of that?" It never occurred to me that it could be a stumbling block for someone, but after listening to her concerns, I understood.

I'm a pretty content person. I don't care much about fashion, altho I do like to look cute! I'm not obsessed with having something new for myself or my home each week. I am perfectly content to go to the mall and just walk around and not buy a thing. I think it comes from how I was raised. When I was a teenager, going to the mall was a regular, social experience I had with my Mom and sisters. I remember on Saturday or Sunday afternoons...that was THE thing to do. I feel a sense of calm when I'm walking around a mall...maybe because everything is familiar...the stores, the decorations, the "mall sounds." Even the food! We would always get pretzels with cheese. YUM!  And Christmas time is the BEST! As long as I'm not feeling pressured to buy gifts, I love to go to the mall during the Christmas season! I don't mind the hustle and bustle and all the people. I love the decorations...and the music...ahhh...

But I digress...

Or, as Clark would say..."notthepoint..."

My friend said she was connected with lots of young women at church and in Bible Study who feel pressure to be the "perfect" wife or mom. Even in churches, you have those groups who seem to compete with each other. Oh, yes, we do. The stay-at-home Moms vs the "working" Moms...the Moms who are barely making it through each day vs those Moms. You know the ones. Whether they home-school their kids or put them in school...they seem to have it all together. Their kids knew PASSAGES of Scripture, while mine were trying to memorize "Jesus wept" in the car on the way to AWANA. They do all the cute crafts, have coordinated clothes for their kids, make the healthiest lunches, throw the coolest play-dates for Moms and kids. Sigh.

Why are women so competitive with each other? Why do we attack the ones we think have it all together? Really, no one has it ALL together. They can't. They just present a good front (this is what I tell myself and the only way I've gotten thru the past 26 years of parenting, so please don't tell me any different!). Seriously, it's like Jr. High all over again. We get into "packs" with like-minded women, and snicker at other women. Or maybe we are quieter and sneakier about it...and adopt an air of pride as we look down on them.

Now throw in Pinterest with the party ideas and crafts and fashion and ways you can work out in your own home and how to do your hair like the pros...and this pushes some women over the edge. When faced with suggestions on how to do it all...many women become frustrated and depressed because they feel "less than" in some way. Or in many ways. This is not to say that "young" women are the only ones susceptible to these feelings...OH NO, MA'AM. Not at all. I think that we all put a lot on our plates. We want to be the best wives and moms and sisters and friends we can be. We see pictures of what we think our lives COULD be like...what the world tells us our lives SHOULD be like. It's exhausting, really.

This is not a post against Pinterest. I love it! I just think that we, as women, need to be sure we are finding our value and worth in GOD...who sent His only Son to die on the cross for OUR sin. It was because of HIS love and HIS mercy...and not because of anything we have or anything we are. There is nothing wrong with creating a beautiful and tasteful home...but we can balance it with what we actually NEED, and can afford. That's one reason why I love Pinterest. Besides the recipes (which, DOH), there are so many ideas on refurbishing "old" stuff...how great is THAT? Not just for young women starting out, but for all of us!

Today I read this post and was totally convicted...everything I just said about being content and not needing things...when I compare myself to this mom and her situation...it's all a big lie. I DO care about my appearance, my home, and what people think...and about serving just the right things to my guests. I looked at the pictures of this Tanzanian woman...so beautiful, so open, so full of JOY as she welcomed guests into her home. Sharing the love of Christ and being thankful for the blessings He's given her.

I want to be like that.

"Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it." (Hebrews 13:1-2)