To which I want to respond, "I wish you could see the whole story."
Because really what that person is saying is, "I wish I could get up on stage and have my fingers dance across the keys like yours do. I wish I could play easily and confidently like you do. I wish I could enjoy a few glorious, glowing moments under the shining lights, effortlessly performing to the praise of all the onlookers."
But if that person could see the whole story, they'd see it's anything but effortless or easy. They would see the blood, sweat, and tears. They would see the days when I didn't feel like practicing. They would see the times I doubted I would be ready for the recital. They would see the times when I compared myself to other, better musicians, when I felt like I was failing my teachers. When I felt like giving up. They would see the struggle that always comes when you say yes to something worthwhile.
But us? We want only the snapshot. Like when you see models on a big poster, perfectly posed, all touched up, with all their blemishes removed. Like when you see someone's relationship status on Facebook change and think to yourself, "I want that." Like whenever we look at a snapshot of someone else's life - one glorious moment of their journey that happened to be caught and framed - and compare our long and arduous journey to that one image.
But don't we know that that isn't the whole story? That every life is messy and hard and takes work day in and day out?
Every time we compare our journey with someone else's few bright, shining moments, we lose the joy of our own place at the table. God has invited us to feast on His goodness each and every day. In the messy and the mundane, there is beauty. Because it's here, in the midst of the wilderness, in the middle of our journey, that He waits to be found. As we thank Him for this moment, we will discover that He is at work in us, in the process of creating us into who He made us to be. Behind closed doors, beyond the pictures we wish to paint for others to see, we will find Him present with us in intimate and glorious ways.
Where there is uncertainty, we will find Him dependable. Where there is fear, we will find Him faithful. Where there is sorrow, we will find Him to be our comfort. Where there is struggle, we will find Him to be our peace.
Because in the end, it's not about our few bright, shining moments under the big lights. It's about Him shining through every moment of our lives, showing us who He is until we enter into an eternity of standing in the light of His presence.