It’s important to remind ourselves that God is the only truly perfect One. God doesn’t expect perfection from us. Jesus did it so perfectly that we don’t have to!
We mamas tend to think we must be perfect at mothering otherwise we are failing. That we must never get frustrated with our littles and we should always keep a perfectly clean house and have endless energy and patience for our kids’ endless requests and questions.
When we slip into perfectionism, and the need to be perfect, there is a fear usually below the surface. We are somewhere lacking in the knowledge of God’s love for us. Perfectionism can be a torment to our minds. There’s a fear that the outcome will not be favorable if we don’t do everything perfectly. That there will somehow be a punishment involved. That our children will not become good people and we will be to blame and thus we are not good either.
The Bible refers much to the word perfect as “maturing or equipping” in Greek and “perfect in heart or to make complete” in Hebrew. So, what if you could redefine “perfect” as what pleases God’s heart? We know that David is described as someone who was a man after God’s own heart. David wasn’t perfect in a sinless sense, but he desired to please God’s heart. In Genesis, God said that He chose Abraham because he would command his children and household after him to keep the way of the Lord.
What is the way of the Lord? Love, faithfulness, gentleness, patience, all the fruit of the Spirit, right? So, if we define “perfect” according to God, what would that look like? Understanding our human limitations that we will not always get it right, perfect might look like being a mama who has patience and compassion for her littles’ lack of skills and inability to sit still or do a task quickly and efficiently. When you feel too tired it might mean setting aside a task and teaching your kids that God has told us that we need to rest and take breaks sometimes and to take care of our bodies. When we snap or yell at our kids, perfect in God’s eyes could be humbling yourself and asking for forgiveness and modeling forgiveness for them when they miss the mark.
What if being perfectly dependent upon God and His grace and love was perfection? Then you could feel perfection every day if you want to 🙂 Perfectly dependent on Him is a type of perfectionism I want to aspire to. How about you? ~Be Blessed, Jenny
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~JENNY RIEFLIN MINISTRIES~ 