I’ve been trying for far too long.
Year after year. Month after month. Day after day. Even moment after moment.
I try.
I give it my all. I waste my precious and fleeting time on it.
When I wake up, I attempt it. Before I go to bed I attempt it.
When I was in school, it’s what I aimed for. When I became a woman, I thought it’s what I needed to do.
When I became a mom I thought it necessary.
The fact of the matter is, I’m giving up. I am officially throwing in the towel. I’m folding, conceding, and I surrender.
I will never be perfect. There I said it.
Whew. That’s a hard pill to swallow. Kinda like a gigantic horse pill for the psyche.
But it must be done.
You see, God has told me that I don’t have to try anymore.
He wants me to know that He loves me right where I am at. He wants you to know the same.
He loves you when your sink is full of dishes. He loves you when your toilet is disgusting (but for real though, I need to clean mine). He loves you when you spend too much money. He loves you when you skip church to sleep in. He loves you when you avoid people at the grocery store because you need a shower. He loves you when you go weeks with a stale fry stuck to your car’s floorboard. He loves you when you forget to pray. He loves you when you ignore Him.
He loves you in your imperfection.
Why in the world? Why would God love me when I am so jacked up? I mean, I don’t always get to my devotional and my bed sometimes goes days without being made.
2 Corinthians 12:9 says this:
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.
God loves us in our imperfection because that’s when He can make us better.
How can we improve if we are already perfect? There’s no room to grow if we have reached the top.
Our entire existence on this earth is to be spent trying to be more like Jesus. Since we will never be just like him, God will have our entire lives to make improvements, tweak us, and mold us into His image.
Every mistake, every sin, every flaw is an opportunity for God to work in us for His glory.
We are not made to be perfect. If that were true, God would have made us robots. A bunch of perfect and flawless robots walking around with empty sinks, clean toilets, and always at church without fail. Would God really be needed with perfection like that?
And what about Jesus? Why would Jesus need to be sent to earth to be an example for a bunch of robots?
He chose to die for completely helpless, flawed, and undeserving human beings. That’s us! And how grateful I am that he did.
As I grow in my walk with the Lord I realize that I don’t have to try for perfection. Doing my best is as close to that as I will ever get. God loves my imperfection. He loves to make me better.
I love to let Him.
I pray today that if you feel the pull to always try for perfection that you will let it go. If only for a moment of freedom. Let the power of Christ rest in your weakness. He will be glorified when you trust in Him. God bless you!
I am in the same place right now. Trying to move past my feelings and fear of imperfection into God’s grace. Thank you for writing this. Sometimes it’s great just to know I’m not the only one!!
Kayleigh Taber recently posted…Victory moments.
“Every mistake, every sin, every flaw is an opportunity for God to work in us for His glory.”
Yes! Love this article. More Christian women (and men) need to embrace their imperfection. When we don’t, we’re no different than the world trying to measure up under its own merit.
I am so guilty of this on so many levels, but I have been trying to focus on what He’s teaching and doing, rather than on how I’m not measuring up or accomplishing.
Amanda recently posted…Frugal Family Fun Weekend Activity Round Up – January 9
One of the greatest thing for most women to overcome-the strive for perfection.
I like to say “prayerful instead of perfect”.
So blessed that God looks as my imperfections and sees grace there.