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PROGRAM D-8491
Do you ever look at other people and envy them because their life looks so much easier than yours? We continue the story of Fran and Jesus, as Fran has this very struggle. This fictional story is intended to help us remember that Jesus is with us at all times, and to call upon him for strength, advice and direction.
Fran is a single mom, a widow whose husband was killed in a tragic accident a few years ago. She has two school-aged children, and all the typical struggles of a single mom.
“Why,” Fran thinks as she fixes breakfast for the kids, “are Monday mornings so hard. Just seems like starting another week gets tougher every Monday. Mondays are the worst days.
“Then she thinks about Sundays. “I don’t know,” she talks to the Lord as she cooks, “as tough as Mondays are, I think Sundays in a way are even worse, do you know what I mean, Lord? And you know why? Because at church it seems everybody else is married with husbands and family and a normal life. And I sit in church with the kids by myself…well, it makes me lonely and reminds me that I’m different,” Fran tries to explain.
“Most of my friends at church are married. Take Elinor, for example. I saw her yesterday. You know, we used to be real close. She and Rick, her husband, well … he’s got a good job, they have a nice house, Elinor seems to really like her teaching job, she dresses real pretty—she’s got everything. And sometimes….” Fran doesn’t finish the sentence.
She can almost hear Jesus saying to her, “And sometimes you compare yourself and feel like you got the short end of the stick—right?”
“Right.” Jesus always understands how Fran feels. He knows her better than she knows herself.
Fran realizes that comparing herself to others is a dangerous habit. “I know I have to break this wrong thinking pattern, and not compare myself to others,” Fran says to the Lord. Tears start down her face.” But it’s hard when I see Elinor and wonder why she has it so easy….”
But Jesus reminds her that you never can tell from outward appearances just what problems may lurk beneath the surface.
And with that reminder, the kids rush into the kitchen for their breakfast, and Fran is busily occupied getting them off to school.