Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Greener Grass

etsy is an enormous place. I feel a lot more 'normal' most days by surrounding myself in the forums, twitter, facebook with etsians because other crafters just get it... the mess I live in because I'd rather sew than clean. The excitement I feel when my first pic was accepted to craftgawker (which it was, by the way, check out my booties here! ) The bliss over a big custom order... the list goes on and on. Now I don't mean to imply that Trace and my family are unsupportive~ They are wonderfully so! It's just different.

The only 'catch', so to speak, is that by surrounding myself with so many amazing artisans is that I am thereby exposed to so many amazing artisans. And doubt creeps in. They are better than me. Have more sales than me. Have a bigger blog following than me. Make a better product than I do. I call this 'etsy envy', and I don't believe it's something God wants in my life. Jealousy is a strange thing, because it grows and grows but only really hurts the one feeling it. In fact, jealousy is among the things Paul lists in the New Testament as 'acts of the sinful life' and tells us to rid our lives of them (Galatians 5:19-20).

*So here's where the background music of Julie Andrews singing 'I've Got Confidence In Me' begins to play...*

I love the things I make. And I know that online, especially on etsy, is a vast sea of beautiful, quality children's products. I am privileged to be among them! I hope today you find ways to celebrate all the beautiful made things around you... And to find time to make some yourself!

Galatians 5:22-26

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature, with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep instep with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

7 comments:

  1. I am right there with you . . . I find myself wondering about my skills at times too. Trust me, you have great talent!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amen! I really needed that! I was just looking at my shop and thinking, "What am I doing wrong? So many people have a lot more sales than I do! Are my products just not as great as I think they are?"

    God has blessed me with a few sales so far (I started the end of July). They are JUST enough to keep me going...otherwise I might give up which I really don't want to do. This just tells me that I need to trust in God...His timing his perfect for every sale I will receive.

    As far as jealousy...so guilty! I really need to just let go of it! Right now I kinda view my shop as a competition-who has the most sales. And I hate losing! But is that the point of my shop--to win? No, that's not why I started it, and I need to keep my vision in focus, not dollar signs!

    Thanks for this post! I wish all the best to you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I know I don't shop for what appears to be the best out of everything that's on Etsy, just for what's the best for me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the encouragement. I call that feeling "imposter syndrome", the sense that I really don't belong here. But I'm starting to gain confidence.

    I can't do everything well, but I can do some things well. I'll focus on those.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Well your things are beautiful.

    I have a question though...you commented that you would rather clean than sew. Did you mean that the other way around?

    Over frm Sits...and on to check out your Etsy.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks, Michelle! You caught my mistake~ I'd totally rather sew!! (I changed it, thanks!)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Amen! (and your stuff is super awesome)

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear what you have to say~ Thanks for leaving your mark!