The Importance of Not Being "Perfect"

Perfect- what comes to your mind when you hear that word?

I think of many things....

I think of (especially here in Southern California),  people who have just the right clothes, their hair is absolutely perfect, perfectly dyed, perfectly styled, never one hair out of place, and they don't even know the meaning of frizzy or flat.  I think of flawless skin and makeup, of bodies that have been to the gym and look just right, not once bit of body fat, but on the other hand, not too skinny either.

I think of people's other qualities- radiant, confident, sociable.

And then there is of course being successful in this worlds eyes.  Having a nice house, a nice car, a great wardrobe.  And somehow being able to hold it all together.

Even in our Christian faith there is a concept of perfect.  We can try to be a perfect Christian, and to many this looks like following a set of rules, don't smoke, don't drink, etc., you probably know all the rules better than me.

But I think what we have forgotten in all of this is the heart.

Scripture says:

Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

There is I think often, such a preoccupation with trying to get all this right that we forget the most important qualities of all:  Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness,Gentleness, Self-Control

I think it is important to remind people that we will never be perfect.  I think it is important as Christians to not assume that we will look just right.  That we will never say, "Follow me, I have it all together."

Rather, what is important is to say, Don't look at me.  I will fail you.  I will stumble.  I will fall.  I am only human.  Rather, look to the Lord, for it is in Him alone that you will stand.

The pressure of needing to be perfect is too much, and pretty much guaranteed we will all fail.  But if we can instead have the focus being on Christ, of being discipled by him, eventually we will get to the place where we will mirror His heart to a lost world, who needs His love, His grace, and yes, His guiding, correcting hand.

So today, it is nice to know, that I am not perfect, and that the Lord knows I am but dust and He doesn't expect that of me.  Rather, I want to fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith.  And hopefully after drawing close to Him for years and years, and after choosing to "take every thought captive" to His Word, I will be able to reach out to others, and hopefully they will see just a glimpse of the beauty of Jesus in my life.

But my goal cannot be the outward, the external.  Rather, my goal needs to be being discipled by Jesus, having my heart changed by being with him in the every moments of life, while I do my dishes, while I do the laundry, while I solve fights between two toddlers, while I try to train my children to wisdom (when I don't know how much I have myself).

We are all pilgrims on this journey.  There will not be any perfection for any of us here on earth.  The only perfect one is our Lord.  It is freeing, it allows us to truly be ourselves, to rest in Him, and to run for the prize until we finally reach our one true home, heaven. 

The point of Suffering?

First of all, let me be the first to say, that there are tons of better resources out there that really address this issue.  Whole books have been written on this, one of my personal favorites being "Streams in the Desert", a book that has sustained and gotten me through many difficult times.

But since I have gone through a relatively minor period of suffering (minor compared to all those in the world who are truly suffering, either by starvation, persecution, terrorism, etc.) I thought I would just jot a few notes down.

Suffering, when you are going through it, is just about the last thing in the world you really want to go through.  There are several different kinds of suffering that I see.

1. Physical- this is one that most of us in the  States really don't know much about.  We are fed, we are clothed, we are warm.  
2. Mental- I think this is fairly common in the West.  I don't start to presume to know how people are suffering mentally, I am not an expert, but I know that many people suffer from the mental strain of trying to meet their needs, the mental strain from jobs, etc.
3. Emotional-  as is seen from the many people suffering with depression, anxiety, etc.  This can be incredibly painful and dehabilitating.
4. Relational- relationships have always been a source of great joy or great distress, or somewhere in the middle.  
5. Financial- I think fairly obvious.  :)

So, with the suffering and the stress usually the first thing we want to do is get out of it.  And I think in a sense that that is healthy, because God gave us minds that try to figure things out, that try to solve things.  I think that it is OK to try to fix things to a point.  But always in our fixing, we have to be willing to stay within the parameters that God has given us to fix things.  For example, when we are having relational problems, we cannot go out and treat someone in a way that God condemns, for example, having hatred in our heart, un-forgiveness, jealousy or envy.  Obviously the extreme of all of this is abuse, murder etc.

With things like depression, I know many people who have been helped by going outside for a walk, by journaling, etc.  But even in all of these things, they can honor the Lord.  Going outside for a walk can show them once again who created this whole earth, they can remember that they are but dust and the Lord is ultimately in control.  Journaling, if done in the right way, can help them to figure out truths that they may be avoiding or ignoring, and give them a safe outlet to do so.  And then, hopefully at the end, they will once again go back to God's Word and "take every thought captive."

But there is still often pain to go through, and sometimes we can't fix it, we can't make it work.  This is so incredibly difficult.  But I have seen so much fruit come from people's lives who have gone through suffering that they cannot fix.  There is a depth of character, a wisdom, a compassion, a gentleness, a humility.  All these things seem so simple to say, and yet when I am with a person who has these qualities, I am immediately struck by these things in their life.  We can choose to allow suffering to make us bitter, or we can allow suffering to make us better.

It is our choice.  God has given us this choice as to how we choose to use our experiences.  Probably all of us will go through suffering in our lives, but I hope my moments of "suffering" can be used for whatever purposes the Lord would have.  Some of those purposes I may know while I am living, some I may not know until I get to heaven. 

Quote of the day

"In God there are no more good days or bad days for you, just days of grace. Some days there is grace to enjoy, and some days there is grace to endure."

Just Starting

It is with great trepidation that I start this simple little blog. I really don't think I have much to say, but sometimes I just have to say "something". I think it is time I stopped bothering my poor friends on Facebook with all my stuff, and give them the option of whether they want to see it all or not. :)

Anyways, we will see if I can even stay consistent with this. Consistency definitely does not come easily to me.

So, no promises, no "I will be on here every day or every week". It will just be random, as it comes to me. And there probably will not be any specific topic, like food, or homeschooling, or anything like that. It will truly be "odds, ends and tidbits from my heart, mind and home".

God bless you all!!