Nobody's perfect, we all know that full well. The problem is, we all want to be perfect, regardless of the fact that perfection is unattainable.
There is nothing wrong with striving for perfection, but we have to realize what kind of perfection we strive for. More often than not, we strive for popular societal perfection which never ends well. We become people-pleasers and try to fulfill everyone else's expectations for us, leaving ourselves empty and thin-spread.
There's only one perfection that matters, and in order to achieve it we have to experience unconditional love. God is the only one who can love unconditionally, but I believe he personifies this love through certain people that He places in our lives.
For instance, as I type this, I'm having a conversation with my best friend. I've started to do so much better since my October incident and I slipped up last night. Not terribly, but I backslid a little bit. I got a sweet taste of my old life and loved it...until it was over. It all hid me like a tidal wave then, and it scared me and angered me at the same time. I can't afford to take any steps back--I can't afford to turn back down that road that almost ended my life only less than half a year ago. She has every right to judge me and dissect me, tearing me down for every time I've screwed up and had to come clean to her about it. However, I still felt comfortable pouring my heart out to her because I knew she wouldn't do any of those things. All she said was: "Aww baby, I'm so sorry. But don't beat yourself up about it. Just do better next time. Nobody is perfect and we all slip up."
I couldn't say it more perfectly.
How often do we need that reminder? Whether or not you're a believer, there's no denying the beauty behind this kind of love. And once we can accept that kind of love, it becomes easier to see the perfection behind our imperfections. Imperfections are not flaws, they are simply part of who we are. There is only so much we can do before we need to come to terms with the fact that the only type of perfection we ought to strive for is personal perfection. We have to be able to accept unconditional love as it is personified and learn to apply it toward ourselves. We were not created to live out anyone else's vision for our life but God's, and that can only be done by searching ourselves and aspiring toward what is best going to help us meet personal standards. There is nothing more rewarding than coming out of a situation knowing that you did all within your power to meet a standard of perfection--knowing that you are your own kind of perfect, and that is something that can't be taken from you.
There is nothing wrong with striving for perfection, but we have to realize what kind of perfection we strive for. More often than not, we strive for popular societal perfection which never ends well. We become people-pleasers and try to fulfill everyone else's expectations for us, leaving ourselves empty and thin-spread.
There's only one perfection that matters, and in order to achieve it we have to experience unconditional love. God is the only one who can love unconditionally, but I believe he personifies this love through certain people that He places in our lives.
For instance, as I type this, I'm having a conversation with my best friend. I've started to do so much better since my October incident and I slipped up last night. Not terribly, but I backslid a little bit. I got a sweet taste of my old life and loved it...until it was over. It all hid me like a tidal wave then, and it scared me and angered me at the same time. I can't afford to take any steps back--I can't afford to turn back down that road that almost ended my life only less than half a year ago. She has every right to judge me and dissect me, tearing me down for every time I've screwed up and had to come clean to her about it. However, I still felt comfortable pouring my heart out to her because I knew she wouldn't do any of those things. All she said was: "Aww baby, I'm so sorry. But don't beat yourself up about it. Just do better next time. Nobody is perfect and we all slip up."
I couldn't say it more perfectly.
How often do we need that reminder? Whether or not you're a believer, there's no denying the beauty behind this kind of love. And once we can accept that kind of love, it becomes easier to see the perfection behind our imperfections. Imperfections are not flaws, they are simply part of who we are. There is only so much we can do before we need to come to terms with the fact that the only type of perfection we ought to strive for is personal perfection. We have to be able to accept unconditional love as it is personified and learn to apply it toward ourselves. We were not created to live out anyone else's vision for our life but God's, and that can only be done by searching ourselves and aspiring toward what is best going to help us meet personal standards. There is nothing more rewarding than coming out of a situation knowing that you did all within your power to meet a standard of perfection--knowing that you are your own kind of perfect, and that is something that can't be taken from you.
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