Between Seasons: Renewing Your Mind When Comparison Shows Up
Between Seasons: Entry 2
Between Seasons is my journal while the podcast rests. Season 2 of The Redeemed Perfectionist podcast returns in January, and until then, I'm taking you along as I build what's next.
In my first entry, titled Between Seasons: His Back Was to the Track — When Your Body Races Before Your Mind Knows Why, I shared how the Lord revealed what was underneath the pressure I’d been feeling. I couldn’t see it until He showed me. This week I get to tell you about the next part of that story, the part where it came back and I caught it myself. That is my own Romans 12:2 experience, and by the end of this entry, it can be yours, too.
The clock followed me to Greece. It didn’t get the last word.
The Clock Followed Me to Greece
I was in Greece on a trip sponsored by one of my podcast coaches. I arrived a few days early to get acclimated, enjoy the food, and take in the culture. The women there dress in such a fun, fashionable way. I decided Greek style is definitely my style! Those first days were good. I don’t recall hearing from my inner critic or my “comparison-itis” even once.
Then I joined the group and met my coach in person for the first time.
We were on a tour of Athens when she raised her phone for those of us behind her to see. She had pulled up an Instagram post of hers that had gone viral, and it was still climbing. Her email list and her followers were growing right along with it.
I felt the panic rise up immediately. Right behind it came the urgency to figure out how to create posts like hers. (I named what’s underneath that trap back in Episode 010, The Four-Letter Word Hiding Behind Perfectionism.)
This Time I Caught It
I was acutely aware of what was happening in me. The thoughts wanted to run like a dog without a leash, straight off a cliff into hopelessness and “FOMO.” The trap? Hurry up and strive to copy what she did so that you will be seen, heard and matter.
But here is where progress was made.
I stopped the thoughts and set them in a new direction! (2 Corinthians 10:5 anyone?)
I reminded myself of what God has already told me:
Live in the moment.
I am in a foundation-building stage. The growth will come later.
He is with me every step of the way and will not leave me.
The work I’m doing is designed by Him, and it is leading somewhere. Noah built the ark without seeing the outcome, and he kept building.
I have no need to feel behind or left out.
Here’s something I recently learned: a state (e.g. fear, anger, happiness, etc.) only lasts about 6 to 11 seconds unless you keep putting logs on the fire. That means neither you nor I have to stay in a negative one! We just need to put water on the fire instead of new logs.
That’s Romans 12:2 in real life.
Each time my mind takes me down a wrong road and I turn it around, my “taking captive” muscle gets a little stronger. Eventually the lies won’t stand a chance.
“No Clock”
Later that night, I got quiet before the Lord and asked, “Lord, what would You have me know?”
He simply said, “No clock.”
Ah, yes. There it is again. The belief that things need to move faster than they are, and that somehow, I’m going to miss it.
I chuckled. (That’s progress too, by the way, compared to beating myself over the head with the “should” hammer!) Then I opened my God-wink journal.
I’ve kept one for a few years. It’s a simple way to track my encounters with God, and I have never been surer of its value. That night I read back through several entries. Here’s one, from April 1 of this year:
I had seen two license plates that day: 503YRS and GOLEVELUP. And as I prayed, I kept seeing a tree.
Here’s what came from it. 503 spoke to me of the grace of God bringing the seed of Christ to its fullness, and YRS was “yours,” as in making it mine (see Titus 2:11). GOLEVELUP reminded me of the wheels in Ezekiel, how they moved in unison and stayed level. Consistency. Level-headedness. And the tree? Trees don’t rush. They deepen their roots, grow steadily, and then produce fruit or shade that benefits others. Leveling up happens naturally when I live in the moment and just do the next thing.
That was April. Six months before Athens, He was already telling me there was no clock. And that entry is only one of many where He has said the same thing in a different way.
Why I Write It Down
Our minds are made to protect us, so they notice the threats first. The good things slip away unless we go back for them. When I reread what God has said and done, hope and patience and joy have something to stand on, and I can feel the difference in my whole body. It’s simple. Not always easy, but simple.
For the rest of the trip, I made the same choice daily: stay in the moment, meditate on what’s true, stay connected to Him. The clock didn’t disappear. I just didn’t have to obey it.
My own practice is plain. I jot down what happened within 24 hours, while it’s fresh, and I go back and reread often. If you’d like to try it, I made a God-wink journal to get you started. Use it until the habit feels like yours, then move to any notebook you love.
What I still can’t tell you (but we’re almost there!)
Remember the thing with the certificate attached? Some of what helped me in Athens came straight out of it. That’s all I’m saying for now. 😇
As for today: last time I asked what pictures you are taking. This week, take one. Write down one moment when God made it plain He was speaking to you, before the day runs over it. 📸
Stay with me, friend. No clock.
Next entry: October 27, 2026
Scriptures mentioned
2 Corinthians 10:5: taking every thought captive
Romans 12:2: being transformed by the renewing of your mind
Titus 2:11: the grace of God that brings salvation
Ezekiel 1:15–21: the wheels that moved together
Genesis 6:9–22: Noah building the ark
Hebrews 11:7: Noah acting in faith on things not yet seen
Continue your journey
Episode 010: The Four-Letter Word Hiding Behind Perfectionism. Where comparison comes from, and what contentment looks like.
Episode 028: Christian Perfectionism: When “Should” Isn’t God’s Voice. For when the “should” hammer comes out.
Episode 033: Casting Down Vain Imaginations: How God Rewires the Perfectionist Brain. More on taking thoughts captive and renewing your mind.
Have you tried this yet?
Not sure how much perfectionism may be impacting your life? Take the Grace Scale quiz. It takes five minutes, and you'll see where you're striving and where you're resting.
And for a deeper biblical foundation on moving from perfectionism and performance into grace, explore You Will Make Mistakes: Discovering God’s Grace in the Midst of Perfectionism.
Until next time…