As cheesy as this sounds, if I could switch lives with anyone, I wouldn’t.
If you would’ve asked me this question several years back, I would’ve probably listed Jessica Biel (because she’s married Justin Timberlake. If you don’t know about my former obsession with him, check out my bio), a handful of fashionable bloggers, and anyone with more money than I currently have. Yet, the older I have gotten and the more I’ve experienced, the more I realize that the grass isn’t always greener.
Some people idolize celebrities because they want the fame. They want to be known, admired, and get paid simply for posting an image on Instagram promoting some product they don’t use. Yet there are a number of celebrities who committed suicide, overdosed on drugs, and have even verbally expressed that they despise being chased down by the paparazzi and wish people respected their privacy. Yes, they get free clothes and have a team of hair and makeup professionals following them around to make sure they never get caught with a bad hair day (or week in my case), but they’re also sacrificing their privacy for the lives they’ve chosen.
Even for people who aren’t well-known like ourselves, it’s very easy to see a few images or posts of someone’s life on their Facebook page and assume they’ve got it made. They’re always praising their relationship with their significant other, they seem very active in the church, and a slew of other things. But what you don’t see is the fight it took to get there, the tears shed, or the struggles faced. What you don’t see is how much they argue behind closed doors and how deep down they feel far from God.
People hop into extramarital affairs thinking that things would be better or because they are coveting someone else’s spouse or something that is not theirs. They soon find out that this person they’ve just involved themselves with is full of flaws, emotions, warts, and all other things – just as the spouse they’ve been unfaithful to.
What I am saying (and still learning myself) is the grass is not always greener. Just because it looks good, doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Just because they look perfect, it doesn’t mean they actually are or that they don’t struggle.
Therefore, to answer your question, I would not want to switch lives with someone else. Do I see posts from friends and sometimes think, “wow, it must be nice” when seeing their posts about trips they are going to take or how seemingly care-free they are? Of course. Yet, I know that I cannot always believe what I see. That even in the challenges we face in our own lives, we have a living God that will never leave nor forsake us and has a plan for us to prosper us and give us a hope and a future. Sure, that future may not look like one of those images you see on the Instagram Explore tag with mountains in the background, but it’s perfect for you.
