You are beautiful. You are enough.

You are beautiful.  You are enough.

Imperfections. Flaws. We all have them, yet we live in a fast society with a freeway for perfectionism, a journey we sometimes take without even realizing it.  We are only “just enough” if we have the “right” things…a house, a partner, a car, children, the newest fads, an ideal body, membership or belonging in social clubs, a temper that never flares, feelings of steel that are never hurt, and a heart that’s never been broken.  Am I relevant enough?  Am I contributing enough?  Am I loving enough?  Am I successful enough?  Am I “pinteresty” enough?  And the list could go on and on…

Take a seat.  This next bit of news may rock your world (or it’s something we all already know, yet continue to ignore).  The frequently sought-after “perfect life” does not exist.  It’s not real.  What is real?  Financial struggles are real.  Marital discord is real.  Parenting a child with a disability is real.  Career discontentment is real.  Anxiety is real.  Mental health is real.  Feeling less than is real.  Being real has the potential to be fabulous, just ask the Velveteen Rabbit who came alive through the love of his boy.

Do everything in love (1 Corinthians 16:14).  Live with a loving heart.  Let go of comparison.  What a challenging feat, especially for a culture living in a social media fishbowl where an extraordinary, public life is a measure of success and leading an ordinary life is futile.  Man, are our priorities messed up?!

Journey in God’s love, not the clouds of perfection blinding our ability to see what has been before us the whole time – the opportunity to grow in God’s grace and love by looking beyond our own nose, beyond the next best thing, beyond the new job with a higher salary or the accolades for “having it all together.”

I’m not sure perfection is something we intentionally strive for in our lives; however, it seeps in when least expected.  As a working mom of four young children, many times friends, family, or colleagues have said, “I don’t know how you do it all.”  Or, “I’m barely keeping it together with two and I stay home all of the time.”  The truth is, I’m not doing it all.  I don’t have it together.  I actually often find myself wondering if I am enough?  Am I doing enough?  Our house is rarely clean.  The laundry, never done.  Work, always a growing to-do-list.  Keeping my cool…ummmm…I try?  

Wake up call!  The truth of the matter is, I am imperfect.  I’m designed to be imperfect because with each imperfection, I am given the chance to accept those flaws graciously and with fervent love.    

Ultimately, we are given a gift everyday, an opportunity to bless and love and give.  Each and everyday you have a choice.  Will you spend your day feeling less than, aiming for perfection, or striving for the next best thing?  

God’s grace is sufficient.  Leave perfectionism behind.  You are created in His love.

You are beautiful.  You are enough.