PreachTeach: Blog by Erica

When I was fifteen, I tried so hard for people to see me as “perfect.”  In my egocentric high school ways, this “perfect” equated to popular, pretty, nice, and cool.

When I was twenty five, I tried so hard for people to see me as “perfect.”  Determined not to be taken advantage of because of a “lack of experience,” I prayed others would notice I was smart, mature, and how I flawlessly balanced work and motherhood.

Today I am thirty, and I’m exhausted by perfect.  

Perfection is tiring because it looks different to absolutely everybody.

Perfection is hard because it constantly knocks you down and tells you what you are not.

Perfection is a lie.

I’m actually quite dorky.  I like to watch game shows and go to the library.

I’m not always that nice.  Ignorant people make me mad and I cuss them out (in my head).

I’m not that smart.  I can never spell definitely without the spell-checker.

And I certainly struggle to balance life as an adult.  It’s hard.

There is so much thrown at us in this thing called life, that it’s time for “Perfect” to be left on the curb. 

No more comparisons.

No more impossible standards.

No more changing myself for the sake of someone else.

No more lying.

Somewhere along the way, the idea of PERFECTION  became a picture of a person with success, good looks, a vacation home, and a maid.  Shallow? Yes!  Sad? Yes! Stupid? Yes! Yes! Yes!

Perfection is not what you have.

Perfection is not what you do.

Perfection is not who you are.

Perfection is in WHO you follow.  

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.  Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.” Philippians 2:13-15

There is a PERFECT God within me- within you.  And that’s the truth.

My pastor said once, “God didn’t say it’s okay to just be who you are and stay there, he said, ‘Take up my cross and follow me.'”

Getting rid of perfection doesn’t mean staying stagnant or accepting less than you deserve.  It is entirely about a change in perspective.

Life will be hard.

Things will be messy.

People will ridicule.

I am tired of pretending I am all these wonderful things I am not.

The truth is- I am a mess.  I’m completely and totally imperfect.  

But I am trying to walk in compassion.

I am trying to forgive those who wrong me (or cut me off on the highway).

I am trying to follow the teachings of the only man who was ever perfect, Jesus Christ.

Perfection is forgiveness.

Perfection is compassion.

Perfection is faith.

Hopefully, by letting go of perfect, people will see me not as a hypocrite but as a daughter who serves a perfect God.

Let’s get rid of Perfect together.  What is something you realized you had to give up in order lighten a self-imposed burden?

Comment here or continue the discussion on Facebook

XO- Erica