quote:
Originally posted by lynn329:
I am a recovering perfectionist.
That's a wonderful way to put it, Lynn. As far as I'm concerned, perfectionism is another one of those invisible bona fide disease that can become as crippling as any other, especially when it walks hand in hand with hopelessness. The dis-ease of perfectionism almost killed me.

It took a lot of therapy to reach the decision to believe that the good news, as far as God is concerned, is that we are not perfect, we will never be perfect, we are not MEANT to be perfect, we are not EXPECTED to be perfect in this lifetime. The fact that we can never achieve absolute perfection should be a big clue that it's not something that we're MEANT to achieve! I'll even go so far as to dare to say that it's not even something we're meant to strive for...reaching perfection is not the point...and if we believe that it is, that's why so many of us feel such despair and hopelessness, because our lives then become a never-ending exercise in futility.

That gives me great cause to rejoice and celebrate...to lean back and relax against my humanity and dare to enjoy the journey (again, I'll use the word "abundantly"), rather than waste my entire life away agonizing over not being able to do it perfectly.

The more I learn about and experience the mercy of God, the more I understand that it's not about being or even becoming perfect, it's about enjoying the journey itself - learning, growing, picking ourselves (and each other) up out of the dust - over and over and over again - figuring out what the mistakes can teach us and then carrying those lessons and that new growth/understanding into the next leg of our journey...helping others along the way with what we've learned.