We’ve all seen the Pinterest life. Creative. Crafty. Uber time-consuming. Totally unrealistic. Pinterest.
The grape-kabobs to get your kids to eat fruit in their lunches.
Or the kiwi fruit trees:
I mean it’s cute and all. And I like a palm tree as much as the next guy….but really?
And then there’s me, who for Alli’s 13th birthday did not raid Pinterest for ideas of treats for Alli’s 9th period homeroom. Or crafty, colorful, bubble-lettered notes to put with them. This is what she got:
Yep. Those are Dunkin’ Donut Munchkins and a handwritten chicken-scratch note so Mrs. Busch would know why she had Munchkins. Real life hit that week, and there was no time for homemade anything….. #nothomemade #iamNOTapinterestmom
And then there’s this post I put up on Facebook last night:
It’s homecoming season, and Instagram is full of the signs and posters and sky-writing attempts of guys inviting girls to homecoming. Homecoming. It’s not a marriage proposal. It’s homecoming. And that’s just the invitation. The actual night better be even better.
And on some level I think it’s cute. I think special occasions should be special. But on another level, I think, “But then what?” Then all the posts about the Pinterest “Will you date me?” and then the 1-weekiversary and the 1-monthiversary and it gets more and more built up and over the top. They’re kids. Really?
I was really letting the whole homecoming out-of-proportion invite thing nag at me last night and I didn’t really even know why. “Let it go, Lagaras!” That’s what I kept telling myself.
Then I woke up with this thought
What happens when life doesn’t look like Pinterest?
What happens when the expectation and hype don’t match the actual reality of life?
What happens when real life is mundane day after day after day and there’s a storm that rolls in on a special day?
What happens when life turns into an epic Pinterest fail?
When you have a dream of your brothers bowing down to you like Joseph did but you end up in a pit and a slave and in prison?
Or when you sense a call as deliverer like Moses did but you run away because you killed someone and find yourself on the back side of the desert for 40 years instead?
What happens when you’re anointed king like David was and instead of packing your bags for the palace you end up right back in the fields with the stinky sheep isolated and alone?
What happens when you pin all these fabulous pictures of nursery designs and decorations and then you can’t have a baby?
Or when you pin all these pictures on your Travel Someday/Maybe board, planning for retirement and your spouse dies?
What do you do when your life doesn’t look at all like your Pinterest boards? When it doesn’t look at all like the romanticized fairytale picture you have in your head?
The tendency is to get depressed, question everything, run away and wonder, “Does God even love me?”
I’ve seen it. I’ve seen someone look at their Pinterest board marriage and their real life marriage and when they didn’t match, they walked away. And I’ve seen someone look at their romanticized picture of what ministry looks like versus the reality of it and walk away because it wasn’t the same.
Disclaimer: I like Pinterest. I have an account and I actually pin things. I think special occasions should be special. And we’re training our boys to be chivalrous when they do start dating. To make a girl feel special. To care and show it. But honoring and caring for someone doesn’t always look like Pinterest. It’s praying for her. It’s honoring her by opening her door. Being kind. Following God yourself and protecting her purity.
Real life rarely looks like Pinterest…but that doesn’t mean you’re a failure…or doing something wrong…or that you’re not loved and adored and cared for….that’s just real life.
Whether you’re on top of the Pinterest mountain or taking cover from the hurricane that’s pounding into your life, the reality is you are loved. You’re not alone.
Don’t judge your life by how closely it resembles your Pinterest boards.
He loves you when life looks like Pinterest and He loves you when you’re in the middle of a Pinterest fail. He’s always good. He’s always with you. And He’s working on your behalf to make a way of escape.