perfection

"Pictures of perfection . . . make me sick
and wicked." -- Jane Austen

For a while now I've been struggling with the stronghold of comparison. I've talked about this before and don't mean to be a broken record but it is a real and ever present issue in my life. I've been reading the book, Passionate Housewives Desperate for God, and although I don't agree with everything in the book 100%, I've found it is a good read for any woman who has made the decision to stay home or is contemplating the decision to stay home. The authors go into a lot of depth about how our cultural messages tend to demean the job of a homemaker but God's word esteems it . . . I won't go into that now.

The area that I have taken to heart has been the chapter on freedom from the bondage of perfectionism. I tend to hold a very high standard for myself . . . and the ironic thing is that instead of basing that standard biblically (which God would give me the strength for) I set that standard against other mothers and women I esteem and end up feeling completely spent. The problem with this is that I don't ever have a true vision of what their real life is like. We all put our best shoe forward. When I look at others I am only getting a glimpse of those beautiful, pristine, and stylish shoes . . . I don't have any clue just how uncomfortable they are. Maybe they pinch. Maybe they leave blisters. Maybe they are too big and heavy and it becomes hard for that person to even pick up their leg to make the next step. I will never know this because all I ever see and think is - oh my, are those shoes ever pretty.

The authors suggest that we need to get real and remember that nobody is perfect! According to Romans 3:23, we all sin and we all fall short of the glory of God. How I need to remember that. How I need to cut myself some slack and cut other people slack. I need to stop idolizing people and the way it appears they have it all together and start focusing again on my journey and the race God has set before me. We each have our own race. I cannot run yours and you cannot run mine. How I need to remember that when I start trying to model my journey after someone else's. If God has mine perfectly planned for me, who am I to get in there and mess it all up? What must God think of me as I continually waste time wishing I could have it all together like so and so?

The quote I shared at the beginning of this post really stuck with me. How very true it is! Am I the only one or do you agree that "pictures" of perfection can lead to jealousy and envy? How many times have I dealt with these issues because I think that someone has it all together and I don't. How many hours have I wasted wishing I had their "easy and perfect" life? Too many for sure.

Thanks for letting me work through some of this on here. I know it has been repetetive, but I'll be honest and say this has been no easy fix for me.