I'm reading You're Already Amazing by Holley Gerth. Just on chapter 4... and it's already amazing. It really speaks to women and how we are constantly putting ourselves down, falling into the comparison trap,and just generally failing to see our own self-worth. Chapter 3 talks about lies women believe, and in this chapter, Holley introduces Mrs. P.
You all know Mrs. P. She first introduced herself to me when I was about 11 or 12. She's loud, bossy, and obnoxious (kind of sounds like how I acted when I was the age I first met her.). She's always present with every task we try, especially if it is something new. Sometimes she paralyzes me with fear. Meet Mrs. Perfectionism.
Our society today taunts us with idealistic images of the perfect woman. Somehow, we read Proverbs 31 and think that we can never be the woman God wants us to be. These lies convince ourselves that we have to put one more activity on our plate, stay up one more hour, fight to lose one more pound (ok, in my case, this is true... not just one more pound. Topic for a whole other blog... grin). Mrs. P. is always lurking in the back of our mind, reminding us of how our house is dusty and the laundry isn't done and I must really stink as a mother because I don't know how to build a Lego house or convert something on the Ipad.
God doesn't call us to be perfect. When perfect is used in the Bible, it can be translated as "complete" or "mature". I am not complete and often I don't feel mature, but He also says that He will "continue the good work that He has started"... meaning that we are working toward completion and maturity. So, no, I'm not perfect. I'm far from it. I can't cook and my house isn't the cleanest around, but if you come visit I'll be sure to offer you something to drink (Diet Coke or Capri Sun... you take your choice). I may not be the best at speaking, but I'm working on making sure that the words coming out of my mouth are uplifting and encouraging. I'm not the most extroverted person, but I'll smile at you and ask you how your day is and promise that I really want to know. And if your day is bad, well, I'll say a little prayer that it gets better.
We all have something to offer to the kingdom. Our offerings may not be perfect, but I think God appreciates the effort. Sometimes, in our messiness, is the most beautiful gift, and I can't help but think it makes Him smile when he knows that something might not have been the easiest for us to do, but we strove and fought and did it anyway to please Him, even if the end result is less than perfect.
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