Perfect is Overrated

Perfect is Overrated.
 I found this quote, and I loved it, so I decided to place it here for "food for thought" for a moment: (confession: the quote comes from the movie, the Breakfast Club, which I admit to never having seen before, so I can't vouch for the movie, but I liked the quote) 

  Somewhere along the lines between childhood days of playing hide and go seek and frolicking endlessly with friends, we become adults who have a tendency to care all the time what others think of us... otherwise known as trying to portray perfect.
   Often times, in trying to portray perfect, trying to impress people, we actually lose ourselves.
 In the moment, we might think we are becoming something, but is that really who or what God intended for our path of life?
  Perhaps, but I'd say if we look deep enough.. or to make this personal and not so generic, If I look deep enough, I will see that in striving to impress others, I try to be someone I am not.
   Perfect is overrated.

 Somewhere along the line, whether it stems from society's images, a person's voice,  or expectation laid out there, it becomes easy to strive to impress rather than just be or do our natural self.

    Let me express some tangible examples.

   I need to lose weight... I'm too squishy....  becomes the mindset instead of I'm healthy. I eat right and take care of myself and the size I am is how God made me.  = trying to be a "perfect size" 

 I don't matter.... trickles in instead of the truth of I am important. He made me. My voice can make a difference. I can make a difference.

 I can't do anything right...... shouts over the reality, which is I make mistakes. But those mistakes mold me and teach me and make me a better me. Everyone messes up. =trying to be a "perfect person" 

I'll never be..... (insert whatever word here you tend to say... maybe it's a good mom, a good wife, a good boss, a better employee, someone who makes a difference....)  can replace the words which should be I know I am..... a good mom, a strong woman, a great employee, a person who can change/make a difference..... 

 You the get the point of what I'm saying here. I am a people pleaser, and often times, I lose sight of me in the process. I start trying to impress or please others, instead of pleasing the ONE who matters, and instead of being true to me.  The journey of this learning process is drudging me along, but mostly because I allow it to happen.
 I began this year with choosing the word different to be my word. Between winter days, unmet expectations, dreams that shift, bumps and bruises, I had pretty much forgotten that was my word. I started out 2015 saying  "look out 2015... I'm here! For real! "  but old habits die hard.
 Many would ask what this looks like for me on a daily basis. Or what I am going to do about these realizations each time. Perhaps that will be in a blog to come.
   But I leave today remembering that I want to be different.  Not a totally different me, per say. But different in the sense of being true to me, and not letting the people pleasing way I tend to have march into every one of my decisions. God first, in everything I do... is my prayer. And in so doing that, I can be different. And let go of perfect. 
   Perfect is OverRated.  Perfect is God's Job. I am perfectly imperfect, and that is a beautiful place.

   Romans 12:1-2, MSG version
  "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life-your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking around life-andplace it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants  from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."