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I Want Natalie Grant's Toaster




I don't follow many celebrities on social media. Several Food Network chefs, Tom Hanks (he does this glove thing when he's out and posts pics on FB), Amy Grant (obviously), Natalie Grant, and some other Christian artists and authors. 

 And yes, authors are totally celebs. 

 Natalie Grant is one I follow on Instagram. Instagram has a feature called My Story at the top of the app. Few people utilize it: my friend who posts his daily workouts, a Pittsburgh Foodie account with the scrumptious flavors of my city, a friend living in China who shares interesting pieces of her new world, and Natalie Grant. Natalie recently shared her new toaster in one of these clips that disappears after a day or two. She showed us its features as if she were a QVC host trying to sell the most incredible new product, and convinced me that it is indeed the best toaster ever.

 It's the Breville Lift and Look Touch 4-Slice Toaster. 

 It's a work of art.

 It has a button to push that will lift your toast up so you can look at it and see if it's done.

 I need this toaster.

 Another button is labeled A Bit More. Toast not done quite enough? Push the A Bit More button. Then push the Lift and Look button to see if it's the right shade of done.

 I need this toaster.

 It has a slide-out crumb tray. My toaster doesn't do that. Mine has the flip-type crumb catcher that just makes a mess.

 I need this toaster.

 It's shiny and new. It does better things than my toaster. It's deluxe and the $79.99 price tag is only slightly off-putting.

 I need this toaster.

 I mean, Natalie raved about it. I can't stop thinking about it. Lift and look. Lift. And. Look.

 It's the toaster of my dreams and I don't even eat toast.

 This is how the comparison game deceives us into believing we need what someone else has. This is how easily we are tricked into feeling what we have isn't good enough. This is how coveting begins. 

 "It's only a toaster," you might say. True, but what if I allow that to creep in? What could I covet next? Maybe something a little bigger like a new car. I mean, my car isn't the roomy SUV my friend has. My car doesn't have heated seats. My car doesn't have the capacity to haul half of my possessions.

 Still not convinced?

 What happens if I'm not satisfied with my marriage? My husband and I don't go on regular vacations yet I see pictures on Facebook of my friends and their trips all over the world. I see your husband buying you a new diamond ring just because and it triggers envy in my mind which makes me feel my marriage is less than.

Just because someone else has something that appears shinier and better than what you have doesn't mean it's true. Be satisfied with what you have instead of concerning yourself with what others have. My toaster isn't perfect but it does what it's supposed to. My car isn't my dream car but it gets me from here to there. My marriage will never be perfect because we're just two people trying to get it right, but I'm happy and blessed. Focus on the good and the rest will be blurred away.

There's a reason God included, "Do not covet" in the Ten Commandments. He knew the roads it could lead us down. Coveting takes our eyes off of our blessings and strips us of joy one thing at a time.

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