My husband came home from work last week and I met him at the door. I noticed the rain had stopped and sunshine poured across the yard.
"I bet there's a rainbow!" I said as I stepped onto our back porch where he stood.
"Yep." He pointed in the direction of our neighbor's house. A rainbow lit the sky above their home.
My immediate response was, "It's not very bright."
We both pulled out our phones and snapped pictures of it. Then he looked at me with a sly grin and said, "You do realize that you just complained about a rainbow."
That realization stopped me in my tracks. He was right. I complained. How in the world could I find fault with a rainbow?
And why did I find fault?
I pondered my reaction and complaint all evening until I finally realized why I thought the rainbow wasn't bright enough.
I compared the rainbow to another rainbow.
A few years back, we saw the most magnificent double rainbow right by our new house and it seemed to end in our backyard. I'd never seen anything like it in my life. See the proof . . .
It's easy to see why I might have compared rainbows in my head. :)
I'm glad I figured out why I complained. Even though it was wrong. It reminded me that I should never do that again. Just because I'd experienced a brighter rainbow before didn't diminish the fact that God showed me another one.
Comparing rainbows, or ourselves in all areas, is a trap.
I'm not as thin as she is
I don't make as much money as she does
She's happier than I am
Her husband loves her more than my husband loves me
She has more friends
The list goes on and on.
Comparing our lives with others dulls the brightness of what God has given to us.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17 (ESV)
God has given us marvelous gifts.
Family. Friends. Love.
And Rainbows.