Mitchell flopped down on the couch. “Life ain’t supposed to be this hard!”

Ruth shifted her eyes. “Says who?”

Mitchell threw his arm over his face in self-pity. “Nobody else on my team has to work as hard as me. Every time I turn around, Coach is gettin’ on to me. Mom and Dad are constantly griping about my grades and me not doing stuff around the house. My boss won’t stop complaining about me being a couple of minutes late. I don’t see what the big deal is. She knows I’m coming from practice every week! And now Stacy’s mad that I don’t spend enough time with her. I think she’s gonna dump me. I can’t catch a break!”

Ruth smiled compassionately. “You wish life were easier?”

Mitchell rolled his head to face his grandmother. “I just wish it was as easy as yours and Pawpaw’s.”

“What makes you think ours is easy?”

Mitchell sprang up from his depressed, lounging position. “Look around! Your house is perfect. Y’all don’t work. Ain’t nobody ever gettin’ on to you about nothin’. Everyone at church loves y’all. You’ve got it made!”

~~~~~~~~~~

It’s easy to look around and think we are victims of life and everyone else has it better. It’s easy to ignore others’ struggles or assume they’ve never had any.

Do you really believe that is the case?