Hi there! Welcome to the Luke & Ashley blog, a journal about our lives, our beautiful couples, and their stories we get to tell. Stay a while and do say hello if you please!
I love it because it connects you to anyone in the world and for small businesses I believe it is essential.
I hate it because most of the time people only show what they want to show. Which is understandable.
However, in a world that is constantly bombarded by images and stories of perfection… It is hard to stand in the truth that we will always fall short. However, I am learning over and over that my true contentment can only be found in my heavenly father.
Those that know me… Know that I am very competitive. I have been since I came out of the womb. 🙂 It is just who I am. If someone said I couldn’t do something… Then I would do everything in my power to prove them wrong. When I played a game I never played for fun… I played to win.
I believe that being competitive is good to a point. It pushed me outside my comfort zone at times and helped me try new things.
Without admitting it or even seeing it… This competitiveness also drove me to dissatisfaction. Pride began to form and comparison set in so quickly. When that happens you can never see clearly.
And Yet my God is so good to me. Even when I fall short daily, refuse him at times, and try to do things my way….
Recently I had a quiet moment in prayer. I was reading out of my devotion and I pulled up the scripture in my bible. I decided to read the whole passage so that I could have a better understanding of what was going on. The passage was in John. It was when Mary came to the tomb and the tomb was empty. She had ran to get Peter and John. They immediately went running to the tomb to see what was going on.
Do you want to know what stood out to me and stopped me in my tracks? The bible says that John outran Peter to the tomb. It mentions again that John arrived first at the tomb before Peter. Well that was weird. Why was that even important? I kept reading. Nevertheless that verse kept coming back to me. I know that it had to mean something but I didn’t know what. I begin to do research. We all know Peters story. He was passionate and yet didn’t have the faith at times. We know that God restored him and used him in an incredible way. John was also a disciple who loved Jesus and God used him to give us the Revelations.
What I didn’t know or really ever put together was their relationship. As disciples they must have spent a lot of time together! Peter & John loved Jesus and yet their own selves got in the way of this love in the beginning. They were always worrying about the other and trying to outdo the other. They were competitive and prideful. I always thought of John as Jesus beloved disciple. And then I read that John was the only one who called himself that! No other New Testament author describes him as such. Talk about pridefulness!
Their competitive nature was even evident at the tomb. Trying to outdo the other. However, Jesus as he always does… Set things straight. He asked Peter if he loved him. Peter said yes of course. He asked again and Peter replied yes he loves him. Jesus asked a third time and this time Peter was discouraged. Yes he loved Jesus. Jesus said…. “Feed my sheep.”
That moment was transforming in Peter’s life. It was then that he realized it was not about him. God was going to use him to touch his people. He was going to use him as an instrument in changing lives. It was not about being the best. It was about being the least. Serving and meeting the needs of those around him. I believe this was the moment that Peter let go of his pride.
This story was such the reminder that I needed that this life is not about me.
I know this was a very different post. However, I wanted to share what has been on my heart lately and I wanted our readers to know that when you get caught up in perfection and trying to be the best then you lose sight on what really matters.
Thanks so much for reading and until next time!
-Ash-
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