As you can probably tell from previous post I'm not a very eloquent person or a good writer for that matter. Which leads me straight into today's topic..... Perfectionism.
Oooo we really hate/love that word don't we! I do. I still get caught up in it's ugly web. Perfect dieting (weight control), perfect marriage, perfect homeschool children, perfect school program to name a few. Yikes, that's only a few. The thing I've (pretty) much learned over the past 16 years of marriage and motherhood is that my Dad isn't looking for perfection from me. He's already got that and more! He wants me to be good, maybe even superb in many areas of life and to come to him whether I'm good or bad at it.
So this leads me to homemaking, child rearing, schooling, and husband loving. Way back when my first daughter was just a tiny babe I would purpose to sit down in the afternoons and read a couple of scriptures and write in my prayer journal ( not for long or I would be sleeping- hee hee). Asking my Dad what was it that I could do to make this crazy life (I had wanted so badly) work. To make me into the woman he desired me to be.
My answer was learn, try and maybe fail. Get up and do it again! Boy the failures, I could name a few! The triumphs have been sweet and I try to remember them as I go into other seasons of failures...
So armed with my new positions in life, I threw my self into homemaking, motherhood and husband loving! I watched a ton of cooking shows and messed up many a meal. I'll never forget the time I was so Proud of Myself for taking fresh broccoli then steaming and pureeing it for my baby's dinner. It looked beautiful! I froze the extra in ice cube trays and thought I was way ahead of the game. Well, my baby took one bite and made the most horrific face I had ever seen my sweet angel make! (Yes, I made her take another with the video camera rolling- posterity people!) She hated it and wouldn't take another bite! So much for my 1st organic baby food. Did I quit?
No, I kept making new things and messing up a lot. Trying to figure out my new husband's tastes. Cranberry turkey- I thought he would love it. (He likes it all together on a sandwich.) Well I made this big fancy dinner- he did not like it. He was very considerate, but I let it bug me. Perfectionism rearing it's ugly head.
The same can be said for decorating. Some of my projects turn out great and some are flops. But then there are those times were I can see His hand and am utterly amazed at how great it looks!
It reminds me that he has given me these gifts that I have cultivated and still need to keep working and growing in them. I'll never be a fantastic artist, culinary chef, project manager, decorator or model. But by the grace of my Lord I'll be closer to the woman he called me to be. Someone who can do many things well, but not perfectly!
Do you feel you need to be perfect to try something? Don't let that ugly web ensnare you. You were created "for such a time as this". Be all that you can be and teach and learn from others along the way.
Blessings
julie
Oooo we really hate/love that word don't we! I do. I still get caught up in it's ugly web. Perfect dieting (weight control), perfect marriage, perfect homeschool children, perfect school program to name a few. Yikes, that's only a few. The thing I've (pretty) much learned over the past 16 years of marriage and motherhood is that my Dad isn't looking for perfection from me. He's already got that and more! He wants me to be good, maybe even superb in many areas of life and to come to him whether I'm good or bad at it.
So this leads me to homemaking, child rearing, schooling, and husband loving. Way back when my first daughter was just a tiny babe I would purpose to sit down in the afternoons and read a couple of scriptures and write in my prayer journal ( not for long or I would be sleeping- hee hee). Asking my Dad what was it that I could do to make this crazy life (I had wanted so badly) work. To make me into the woman he desired me to be.
My answer was learn, try and maybe fail. Get up and do it again! Boy the failures, I could name a few! The triumphs have been sweet and I try to remember them as I go into other seasons of failures...
So armed with my new positions in life, I threw my self into homemaking, motherhood and husband loving! I watched a ton of cooking shows and messed up many a meal. I'll never forget the time I was so Proud of Myself for taking fresh broccoli then steaming and pureeing it for my baby's dinner. It looked beautiful! I froze the extra in ice cube trays and thought I was way ahead of the game. Well, my baby took one bite and made the most horrific face I had ever seen my sweet angel make! (Yes, I made her take another with the video camera rolling- posterity people!) She hated it and wouldn't take another bite! So much for my 1st organic baby food. Did I quit?
No, I kept making new things and messing up a lot. Trying to figure out my new husband's tastes. Cranberry turkey- I thought he would love it. (He likes it all together on a sandwich.) Well I made this big fancy dinner- he did not like it. He was very considerate, but I let it bug me. Perfectionism rearing it's ugly head.
The same can be said for decorating. Some of my projects turn out great and some are flops. But then there are those times were I can see His hand and am utterly amazed at how great it looks!
It reminds me that he has given me these gifts that I have cultivated and still need to keep working and growing in them. I'll never be a fantastic artist, culinary chef, project manager, decorator or model. But by the grace of my Lord I'll be closer to the woman he called me to be. Someone who can do many things well, but not perfectly!
Do you feel you need to be perfect to try something? Don't let that ugly web ensnare you. You were created "for such a time as this". Be all that you can be and teach and learn from others along the way.
Blessings
julie
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