Perfect is not the point

I am learning this truth, day by day, little by little in every area of my life. I am a perfectionist in the worst way. I like to be perfect and really hate the area’s in my life that I am not. I refuse to do any sport or anything I can’t do perfectly or at least really well. I am really competitive and want to be the best. I truly hate this about myself. It is something me and Jesus are working on. I can allow myself some imperfections allowances in some places, and in other places I can’t seem to take it. So instead of being imperfect I refuse to try. So the mantra I am trying to adopt now is “perfect is not the point”. I have been telling the members of my WW meetings to give themselves permission to not be perfect, the last time I said that in a meeting I felt the Holy Spirit say to me “Why don’t you give yourself the same permission?”

 In the meeting I was talking about tracking your food, writing down everything you eat is a huge key to your weight loss. But most people really struggle with doing that 100% of the time. So I tell people to find a happy compromise that they can be ok with. Some tracking is better than no tracking. So I am trying to take on that mentality with the rest of my life. I can’t clean the house from top to bottom in one day, so I’ll do a little every day. Which may seem completely logical to some, but to me this is a new concept I am trying to adopt, along with many other things. 

God isn’t looking for us to be perfect, He wants us to put forth and effort, then rely on Him for the rest. His forgiveness and grace is there for us when we fall short of perfect, which we always will. We are pleased with our children when they try to do what is right, they don’t always get it right either. It’s about the effort we are putting forth. I know my heart, I know when I am giving it my all, and when I am giving it only a 75% (or sometimes less) effort. God knows too. He wants my heart to be right.  I too often look at myself through other peoples lenses, “what will so and so think of me if I do or don’t do that”, when I should think “what will God think if I do or don’t do that” most of the time I would realize that God doesn’t care about some of that stuff as much as man does. It would free me up to relax in some areas and in others, it would really make me behave myself more.

Perfect isn’t the point the intent of the heart is what is. God knows my heart, now I just have to know my heart too!!