Three Surefire Ways to Have It All
No matter what grocery store we all frequent, we are faced with the latest editions of magazines offering to better our lives if we read their articles. There is always a new quiz to take and a new program to follow that will make us smarter, prettier, happier, and less stressed.
Have you ever read one of these articles and tried to live up to the standards they say will deliver? I have! Many times I’ve questioned a friend on: “How do you … (fill in the blank) so well?”
Somehow, I’ve mistakenly thought that I can have the same success with what works for someone else.
I’ve thought that if a daily plan/schedule works for one busy wife and mom, I should be able to make it work for me, too. If a friend loses weight on her diet/food plan, I’ve thought it should work for me. I’ve been deceived into thinking that if I exercise as much as “so-and-so,” I would have the same results. Millions of self-help books have been sold to give us the next best way to “fix” ourselves. Pinterest, Instagram, and posts on Facebook lure us in. I’ve spent a lot of time and energy (and sometimes money) gleaning countless strategies of successful people and friends, unrealistically thinking I could or should live as they live. And, I even went so far as to think I could accomplish several of these new plans together (all at once!) in little ole’ me. I’d be the perfect woman! Did you get that, ladies? I want it all!
Do we really want “it” all? What good would it do? These expectations only serve to frustrate, exhaust, and depress. They are all based on our striving. With God there is so much more!
The longer I walk with the Lord the louder His message is to me:
Be the “you” I made you to be.
I firmly believe that I will be a much better “me” as I learn to be content with the simple truth: I am not perfect, nor was I made to be perfect. But, what I do know is that God perfectly made me. Did you get that?
God perfectly made me “imperfect” … in the world’s standards.
This realization frees me to make mistakes. I don’t have to stress when I don’t achieve every goal. I can have joy in being the woman I am. In fact, it keeps me humble and reliant. I face the fact that I’m not any more or any less than who God made me to be: ME!
So, when I see those magazine racks by the checkout stands, or am tempted to read the post that promises some form of perfection, I can joyfully pass them by and give thanks for being the daughter My Father made me to be—right now, just as I am!
(By the way, I tricked you if you thought I had a list of three surefire ways to have it all.)
GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!
