Accepting Imperfection
My highest ambition is to be what I already am. I will never fulfil my obligation to surpass myself unless I first accept myself, and if I accept myself fully in the right way, I will already have surpassed myself.
Often times we find it so easy to flaw ourselves, to only see what we dislike or want to change about our person. We're not as pretty or as smart or as talented as the next person. We scorn our imperfections, try to hide them and change them and extinguish all traces of humanity from our being. We don't realise the beauty of imperfection, the fact that we are singularly unique and amazing through our flaws.
I personally am an overachiever, and a perfectionist. I pride myself on being the best I can be, on getting nothing but top marks and perfect grades and being freakishly meticulous in everything I do. I said to a friend the other day "In my mind, there are only two marks: excellence and not-excellence." I realised as I started to write this post that it's rather hypocritical of me to write on accepting imperfection when I cannot do so myself. And so I'm going to try and listen to what I write here. I'm going to accept my own imperfections as my humanity and be grateful for them
There's a big difference between accepting shortcomings and encouraging them. Although it's my resolve to be proud of whatever mark I get, I'll only be proud of it so long as I've tried my hardest and done my best. I shan't cry or fall apart when I don't do as well as I'd have wished, but rather see it as a learning experience and appreciate the lesson learned.
I'm not going to hide from my flaws. I love being a flawed person. That sounds crazy, I know, but it's true. If I were perfect, life would be rather dull indeed. I love that I have a slight ski-jump nose and feet that are way too small for my height. I love that I'm often awkward and that I use too many big words for everyone else. I am happy that I am imperfect and happy that I have a reason to make today a better day.
You see, God made us each perfectly and purely in His image. It was His will that I have a ski-jump nose and tiny feet. And He loves me for it. What I can't accept in myself God will always accept in me. He loves with an unconditional love, regardless of whether or not you get the top marks or run the fastest or sing the most beautifully. For you were made in my image (Genesis 1:27). If we were made in God's image and we scorn what we consider to be imperfections in ourselves, we are not only undermining our own beauty as created by God, but undermining God himself. I trust that there is a reason for everything. Maybe I didn't get that Excellence in Statistics- but it was God's will. Maybe I'll never be as pretty as my best friend- but I am the most beautiful person in the world in God's eyes, for He created me in His image and as his beloved daughter. Not flawed. Perfect in His eyes.
And if God, my vast, amazing creator, can accept my little imperfections- why can't I?
Often times we find it so easy to flaw ourselves, to only see what we dislike or want to change about our person. We're not as pretty or as smart or as talented as the next person. We scorn our imperfections, try to hide them and change them and extinguish all traces of humanity from our being. We don't realise the beauty of imperfection, the fact that we are singularly unique and amazing through our flaws.
I personally am an overachiever, and a perfectionist. I pride myself on being the best I can be, on getting nothing but top marks and perfect grades and being freakishly meticulous in everything I do. I said to a friend the other day "In my mind, there are only two marks: excellence and not-excellence." I realised as I started to write this post that it's rather hypocritical of me to write on accepting imperfection when I cannot do so myself. And so I'm going to try and listen to what I write here. I'm going to accept my own imperfections as my humanity and be grateful for them
There's a big difference between accepting shortcomings and encouraging them. Although it's my resolve to be proud of whatever mark I get, I'll only be proud of it so long as I've tried my hardest and done my best. I shan't cry or fall apart when I don't do as well as I'd have wished, but rather see it as a learning experience and appreciate the lesson learned.
I'm not going to hide from my flaws. I love being a flawed person. That sounds crazy, I know, but it's true. If I were perfect, life would be rather dull indeed. I love that I have a slight ski-jump nose and feet that are way too small for my height. I love that I'm often awkward and that I use too many big words for everyone else. I am happy that I am imperfect and happy that I have a reason to make today a better day.
You see, God made us each perfectly and purely in His image. It was His will that I have a ski-jump nose and tiny feet. And He loves me for it. What I can't accept in myself God will always accept in me. He loves with an unconditional love, regardless of whether or not you get the top marks or run the fastest or sing the most beautifully. For you were made in my image (Genesis 1:27). If we were made in God's image and we scorn what we consider to be imperfections in ourselves, we are not only undermining our own beauty as created by God, but undermining God himself. I trust that there is a reason for everything. Maybe I didn't get that Excellence in Statistics- but it was God's will. Maybe I'll never be as pretty as my best friend- but I am the most beautiful person in the world in God's eyes, for He created me in His image and as his beloved daughter. Not flawed. Perfect in His eyes.
And if God, my vast, amazing creator, can accept my little imperfections- why can't I?
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