Embrace the Imperfections.

We are imperfectly perfect in the eyes of our Lord. Hard to believe sometimes because we live in a world where perfectionism seems to crawl in every inch of our lives.

But what is perfectionism and why do we chase it?

According to Google definition, perfectionism is refusal to accept any standard short of perfection. Hmm. Seems pretty hard to obtain, right?

I think we all can agree that chasing perfection can lead us down a road that causes us more harm than good. Perfection will never be obtained because we are not made to be perfect in this world. We are meant to feel things high and low. We are here to learn from our failures and help those who may be struggling as well.

We all are struggling in some way, shape, or form. Sometimes we just don’t realize that we are not alone in this big world.

But why do we seem to chase perfection? Why do we feel the need to be perfect?

I may not know the exact answers to this, but from my own experiences I can kind of guess why we do.

As a human being, we crave attention but not confrontation, so we get in a mode where everybody else is on our list to please. We don’t want to show feelings or tones that could be detrimental, so we tend to make sure we are in control of every little detail of our lives.

Which this eventually causes us to spiral out of control of people pleasing and end up losing ourselves in the mix. Even if we could “control” everything in our power, when one thing hiccups, we become so disappointed in ourselves. Why? Because we figure we have this whole thing figured out and when things don’t go our way, we get upset with ourselves.

I’ve learned this the hard way. I used to be the one who would have my to do list. Plan everything to the T. Make sure I had this planned. I had this done. No room for error. I would drive myself crazy just trying to get what I needed done the correct way. I was so caught up in my work/productivity I would miss out on the small things. I would get aggravated when things changed suddenly. If the weather wasn’t perfect for our occasion. If I became sick in the middle of a project. I was so frustrated all the time and so angry.

It was not the fondest of times. I held onto so much bitterness because things never went my way. And if things changed, my mood would reflect nothing but the negativity. I never slowed down. I never gave myself grace. I always figured I needed to be perfect in everything I set out todo. But it eventually led me to more misery. Distancing myself from my family and friends. I became so down on myself and just allowed my self-confidence to spiral down the drain. If I couldn’t be perfect, then I must be unworthy.

Which this is the total opposite on how you should feel. We should not continue to put ourselves down because we don’t meet certain expectations of the world.

Sorry, I can’t be supermom all the time. I can’t make stuff happen just because. You and your emotional status matters. You should not have to feel the weight of the world because the weight of the world is not yours to carry.

Our society has groomed us into thinking that if we were to rest or be still, we are missing key chances to greatness. I must disagree. I believe in quality over quantity. Just because we may spend less hours on something doesn’t mean it isn’t enough. If you were writing a paper and you were just mindlessly surfing the internet, this would indicate that you are being unproductive. But what I see is burnout. We need to be mindful of our time, and if rest is what we need. Then we need to step away and rest. Then when we come back, we can be useful of our time and actually get what we need done.

You are allowed to step away from perfectionism. You don’t need to overwork your mind to meet standards that are just unrealistic. You can’t possibly do everything all the time without any time to actually rest.

Here’s what I found to help me out. I stopped making lists to do. I stopped allowing myself to feel inadequate because I didn’t get everything done in one day. When it could easily take a couple of days to get my tasks done.

I stopped allowing myself to fall under the standards of the world. All work and no play. I don’t mean that we should be diddly daddling every chance we get, but we should be allowed periods of rest when our body indicates we need a break. I rather be refreshed and useful rather than drained and annoyed.

We are in control of our own mindfulness. We know how we feel and how our body feels. Sometimes it takes us some time to step back and reevaluate our status in the moment. We need to stop allowing unrealistic expectations to control how we should go about our lives.

Set your own standards. Protect your own peace. Make a schedule that works for you and your family. Not everybody needs to compare their lives to those of others. What works for you, may not work for everyone. And that is totally okay.

Embrace the imperfections life gives us. We can learn so many amazing traits about ourselves if we just take the imperfections as they are. Improve where we need. Learn to make healthier choices.

It’s all about looking for the good in the bad when we go through life. There’s always more out there than what we choose to see in front of our eyes.

The bible tells us

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV

Be okay with the hardships life brings us. Be okay with not being everything Christ was. We weren’t mean to be perfect in the eyes of our Lord, but to surrender to him. Allow ourselves to walk through life for Christ and do our best. We will make mistakes. We will come across challenging situations. We will hurt. We will get angry. We are human after all. But if we reside in our Lord with all good things as well as all challenging obstacles, our Lord will give us the sanctuary we need.

He wants us to learn and grow deeper with our relationship with Him. He doesn’t want us to chase something He never meant for us to be. He created us as we are. Imperfectly perfect. We all posses traits different from our neighbor. But if we come together, we are more powerful with our imperfections. Our imperfections make us who we are.

Remember you are loved as you are. There’s no reason to feel unworthy because you are here. You are alive. And you have a purpose waiting to discover. Lean on Jesus when you feel you’ve lost your way. He will guide you through the mist.