A Clarification of....Me

I received an email earlier this week that I was shocked by. I choose to not let it hurt me, but something about it still bothered me. I spoke with my dear husband, Josh, and my loving sister, Michelle, about it several times this week trying to figure out what bothered me so much. Who it came from and the entire content of the email is not of consequence; this post is about me and my feelings and I don't mean that in a selfish way at all. I hope that you will keep reading so you can understand my explanation.

Basically the email stated that things I was doing made me look like I was trying to be a super mom. It also expressed that sometimes it seems that I have the attitude that I can do things better.

I have determined what bothers me is the fact that this is a misrepresentation of me and I am not sure if others feel the same way. I never tried to do anything to make myself look or feel better than someone else. I am so sorry that people may feel this way about me. Josh & Michelle told me that they were pretty sure no one else did, but I worry that maybe more do. The fact is that I always do things to make sure the people around me feel the same love in life that I do - if my acts of kindness and service make people think that I am trying to be Super Mom or do everything and do it better than them I am sorry. That is not me at all. It was because of this that I decided to tell you a little about me and why I do so much - to hopefully dispel the possibility that others could feel the same way or hopefully show people that it is purely out of love that I try to help others.

First and foremost one of my basic core beliefs is that I am a Child of God endowed with seeds of greatness and I can do anything I put my mind to. It is so much a belief that my children say this in their positive affirmation every single night. I don't do anything in life to try to feel a sense of worth. It is solely because of my sense of worth, as a child of God, that I know I am capable and have the potential to do many great things.

Thomas Edison once said "If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” Tim Hansel (adventurer, speaker, author of six books) said, "The good news is that the best season of your life can be ahead of you no matter what your age or circumstances - if you choose to make it so - because 90 percent of your potential is not only untapped and unused, but also undiscovered. That's not just good news, it's incredible news!"

These two quotes stuck with me when I read them long ago. I knew that I could do much good in this world if I started to live up to my potential. I make sure my priorities are always in place (God and family first) and then I do whatever I can on top of that. What it is that I do doesn't matter. The thing that matters is, just like everyone else in life, I have a huge amount of potential in me. I am only striving to be the best Trish Anderson I can be. Other than loving others and showing that love, it has nothing to do with anyone else. I don't do it because I think I am better than anyone else. In fact, I believe everyone is equal. Respect Everyone - Fear No One. I say this because we are all children of God and because of that we are equal. I am not better than any one else and they are no better than me - some may have more or less in this life, but that doesn't make them have more or less worth. That simply means they made different choices than we did.

I am saddened that my wanting to show love towards others, sometimes at great sacrifice on my own part, is taken as a sign that I feel I am better or that I can do everything. I guess in a small way it does hurt because I have tried so hard to show love and do things for others - especially the person that sent me the email and instead of taking that at face value it is changed and made into something else.

Please don't take things that I do as anything more than me trying to do and be my personal best. The best wife, mother, friend, disciple of Christ, that I, myself, can be. Please know that the things that I do in life are because I know that the Lord has blessed me with much and I want to show Him that I can be entrusted with that stewardship.

As you have read this, whomever it is, I hope you understand that it is with total sincerity that I am so sorry if I offended you, if I caused hurt, if I caused self doubt or anything else that could be taken that way. I don't know how to say it any differently. Please forgive me!