The Battle Against Perfectionismਨਮੂਨਾ

"Amy, I just love coming over to your house because you are just so real." I had three people say this to me in the course of a month. My internal translation of this statement is, "Amy, I am amazed you are willing to have people over with your house being such a mess."

Yes, I just love "being real." The honest reality is that I was not "choosing" to be real. I would have much preferred to have my house look beautiful and orderly like my dear friend's house next door. I believed there was something seriously wrong with me because I was not able to keep it all together in my home or (generally) in my life!

So, there was no way I would have viewed myself as a perfectionist. Perfectionists had perfect houses, perfect schedules, perfect figures, and dressed themselves, their kids, and even their husbands perfectly.

Perhaps you, like me, would never identify yourself as a perfectionist. After all, perfectionists have spotless homes, flawless schedules, and everything perfectly organized. But perfectionism isn't about achieving perfection - it's about the hidden drive that desires it, even when our lives appear beautifully chaotic and authentically "real."

The unconscious voice that whispers "that's not good enough, you can do better than that" creates an undercurrent of discontent that robs you of joy. This internal pressure suggests that anything less than perfect is unacceptable, extending the devastating lie that unless you are perfect, you are not worthy of being loved. God’s word states the opposite - that His power is made perfect in our weakness. Let us bring before the Lord the things in our life that don’t live up to our standard of perfection and allow His grace to cover our hearts and our homes.

Reflection Question: How can the sufficiency of God’s grace help you battle against a spirit of perfectionism?