Confessions of a Perfectionist

I love the feeling of accomplishment. It reminds me of the feeling of a sneeze or deep sigh, just great. Well, last weekend I finally finished the last edits on my devotional on the book of Judges and got to mail out the pre-release copy for free to the awesome ladies who follow Missional Women by email. I was so excited to have it done until... I realized I sent out the wrong link. 

It's like this: When I was little I was in pageants. In one of them I was asked the question, "What colors are in the rainbow?" In the cutest way I could muster I said, "Red, white and blue and of course purple." Everyone laughed and it wasn't until thirty minutes later I realized what I had said. That's how I felt after sending the broken link. I would have to re-email over 500 people telling them what a dork I was. I swallowed my pride and re-emailed the correct link only to open the book and realize that somehow I had saved and sent the unedited version over the edited version! So much for my feeling of accomplishment. It was quickly replaced with feeling like a fool and discouragement. 

As I took my discouragement to the Lord, He reminded me about wabi-sabi. I had written about it once, but had forgotten the gist. As I searched the site here, I was again reminded about Jesus' sufficiency. His Word surely does give comfort in our affliction. 

Have you ever been discouraged by your mistakes? I hope this repost will encourage and revive you as it has me. 

And PS, A Devotional Journey through Judges is finally edited (again) and ready to send out on Friday to all the sweet ladies who follow via email. You can do that here if you'd like to get a free pre-release copy.

How to Embrace Imperfection

Aw, what a cute family picture. Don't we just look like we have it all together. Matching outfits and cute kids who just sit still, smile and obey.

But here's reality...

But why is it we long for that perfect shot? Why don't we want to enlarge a picture of crazy to mount on the wall? 

I think it's because our culture (perhaps most cultures?) value being perfect and the best. When was the last time you encouraged someone to try just a little, give just enough or get thesecond best thing on the menu? 

If our goal in life is to try to be perfect/the best and have it all together (and expect others to as well) then we don't point people to Jesus and His sufficiency but rather our own (or lack of it).

God's perfection is enough to satisfy our inefficiencies. {Tweet this}  Why not delight in that? 

When Austin and I were planning our wedding I couldn't think of the perfect song for our first dance. I just picked a song and months later I heard the perfect song and was so sad I didn't think of it earlier. In my discouragement the Lord reminded me that Jesus died for mistakes too. 

Our failures shine a spotlight on God's grace. 

So a person like me, a task-oriented, with a tendency toward perfectionism (unless it clashes with wasting time), I use to have to remind myself often, "Enjoy the process Laura."  But it hit me yesterday as my kids were being devoured by green head biting flies in what felt like 110 degree weather with people I didn't really know as I worried about my preschoolers falling off the deck into the Bay, that it's not the process I need to enjoy. Because sometimes the process just really stinks. It's enjoying Jesus as He walks with me through the process. I will never enjoy trying to comfort my screaming 3 year old because a biting fly got in his swim suit and bit him. No, but I can enjoy Jesus, the Comforter and Perspective Giver. 

So what does it practically look like to embrace imperfection? What does it practically look like to embrace God's grace?

Have you ever heard of Wabi-Sabi? It's the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection. Sometimes they would clean up a back yard and just before they were done, shake the leaves from a tree just enough to create a little mess as a reminder to embrace imperfection, a sign of beauty.

Embracing imperfection (better known as chaos in our family of preschoolers) for imperfections sake is crazy and definitely not beautiful! But embracing imperfection to see and display Jesus as the Perfect One, now that's an idea! That is beautiful!

Why not put a little flaw in something to remind you Jesus stands as our perfection. A reminder we don't need to have it all together because Jesus is our togetherness. 

And really, don't we all need the constant reminder to keep looking to Jesus for His sufficiency instead of our own.

So what can you do today to put a little flaw in something to remind you that Jesus' perfection is your perfection and sufficiency? 
A little too much of 1 ingredient? A dirty car? A pile of mess?

About Laura

Laura, the creator and host of Missional Women is married and has three kids, two of whom are adopted. They have been missionaries to college students for 11 years serving with Master Plan Ministries. Laura has discipled over 150 girls, led over 30 Bible studies and speaks 10-20 times a year. Laura is an award winning author of a 12 week Bible Study on First Samuel, Beholding Him, Becoming Missional, recently released Reach; How to Use Your Social Media Influence for the Glory of God, and Glimpse of Glory; A Devotional Journey through the book of Judges, a FREE devotional which accompanies the online Bible studyTheBookofJudges.com.

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