Comparison, Am I Normal? is bad, it’s a dirty word. Thinking in the vein of – Am I normal – is a trap that leads to depression. If you have ADHD that path to depression is incredibly short. It’s not really a path, more like stepping through a doorway and you’re there — Depressed! In that light we can call comparison the door. This door should remain closed. It hides a very ugly room.
What’s so ugly about the comparison to normal?
Being normal has a nasty habit of always putting you and your loved ones in an unfavorable light. How would you feel if the family photographer was always cutting your head out of the pictures they took. You would constantly see your body as it is without the beauty of your smile or the light in your eyes. That’s just what thinking “am I normal” does! You are cutting all the beauty & light out of the picture, leaving only starkness.
When our oldest children had reached 5th & 7th grade, they began coming home with talk of Normal. They were coming to the realization that with ADHD they were different. My response was – let me give it to you straight – “Comparison is not your friend. It will kick you when you’re down. It will turn its back on you when you need a hand getting up. Comparison is Satan’s agent. It is hollow, cold, and cloaked in darkness. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it is the goodness of God. It is not. It will pull the rug out from under you and laugh out loud when your bum hits the floor. Then came my motto: You will NEVER come out on top when you grapple with comparing yourself to others.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
Comparison, or seeking to be normal, is a cruel taskmaster, keeping you unsettled down to your soul. It will keep you awake when you should be sleeping, distract you from what you should be doing. It likes to steal all the joy out of your days. It can even immobilize a person by creating great fear in their soul, so much so that they refuse to go out. Comparison is crippling. It gives no relief; it hangs on with a death grip. You want to shake it off. You may even think you have shaken it off, but then you turn a corner and there it is again. Have you had enough? Are you ready for fresh air and sunshine in your days? I can help you find it.
Jesus is who you need. Jesus accepts you just as you are. Where you are, secrets and all. Jesus has a love for each one of us so vast we can’t comprehend how deep it is. Jesus has enough love for the whole world. Every single person on earth can find more than enough love in Jesus. Once you meet Him it will be much easier to let go of comparison. You will soon be leaning into the great big bear hug of Jesus. He washes away all our grief, replacing it with joy & peace. He tells us that we are enough for Him. We can relax in that knowledge. Jesus loves us just as we are. If we are lacking anything He will provide it.