The Dis-Ease of Perfection
Do you suffer from perfectionism?
I tease my friend Dee about her PPS – Pre Party Syndrome. She obsesses over every detail, but her parties are awesome and everyone wants to be invited to them because her home is beautiful, her food is delicious, her games are fun and her hospitality is over the top. Occasionally, she allows guests to contribute which is how I ended up with the assignment to bring my specialty – deviled eggs.
On the day of the party, my boiled eggs did not want cooperate with me. The shells stuck to the egg white like they’d been super-glued. Big hunks of egg came off with the shells leaving me with the ugliest looking things I’d seen since I tried to cut my own hair.
A Big Decision
I looked at those pitiful eggs and had a decision to make. Take ugly eggs to the party or take nothing. Everything in me wanted to trash the eggs and start over, but there was no time! The voice in my head chided, You can’t take those! They look awful! They are not worthy of a Dee party. She will be offended if you take them. No one will eat them anyway. Maybe you should stay home if that’s the best you can do!
Why is it so easy to let a little thing like ugly eggs undermine my attitude and make me believe my community will reject me – not my eggs, but me!?
The Dis-Ease of Perfectionism
Because I’m a recovering perfectionist and I relapse into old thinking. It doesn’t just happen with deviled eggs. It can happen with anything!
- My hair.
- My husband.
- My house.
- My kids.
- My car.
- My closet.
- My work.
- My writing.
- My weight.
- You name it!
Do you do that? Assume that if you’re not perfect or your kids aren’t perfect or if your marriage, spelling, driving or deviled eggs aren’t perfect that you’re a failure and therefore unacceptable?
Ooooh, I used to LIVE that lie all the time! So easy to slip into. You look around and everyone else seems to have it together. Especially, if you have a couple of over-achievers in your life who really set the standard high.
Ugh! How do you measure up?
The answer is … you don’t.
One way to overcome the dis-ease of perfectionism is to STOP measuring yourself against what you think you see in other people. Stop COMPARING.
God loves you just the way you are. Really. He does. He even says so in His book. God loves you with an everlasting love. Jer. 31:3
He loves you so much, he sacrificed his son, Jesus, to pay for your sins so you could establish an unhindered relationship with him.
- No conditions
- No catches.
- No exclusions.
- No performance required.
No one is perfect
I don’t know how the lie that you have to be perfect got stuck in your head, but here’s the truth. No one is perfect. No one. Ever. Except Jesus. And even He doesn’t expect you to meet that standard.
Today, stop comparing, start smiling and step into believing God loves and accepts you just as you are.
I want you to know, I whacked those ugly boiled eggs in half, stuffed them with filling and they were delicious! At the party, they disappeared faster than kids at chore time.
Replace the negative trash talk in your head with the truth of God’s thoughts toward you. I’d love to hear how you overcome the dis-ease of perfection. How do let yourself be perfectly imperfect?
Verse for today: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV
Prayer: Lord, remind me that you love me as is. No conditions or catches. Remind me that you made me and as my Creator, you love, admire and approve of your good work and so should I. Remind me the dis-ease of perfectionism can be healed. In Jesus Name, amen.
Hi! So you remember the Dom DeLouise commercial when he’s was preparing food for a party? He had a table FULL of food and was worried it wasn’t enough. My. Life. I’m so bad, that if I can’t “do it right” I don’t even try ?????. Working on it with a counselor as “Jesus with skin on”,?????????. So thankful for the encouragement I get from you, another “Jesus with skin on”?
I do remember that commercial. That message of Never enough is a real joy stealer! So proud of you for going after this rotten mindset so you can embrace ALL the wonderful things about you and know you are enough. 🙂
Me again, imperfect??. All the question marks in the previous post should be !!!!!!!! Hot mess and fat thumbs?
Rita, I’m praying you find your happy place this side of perfection. 🙂
Praying you find your happy place this side of perfection. 🙂
I just want you to know how much I appreciate your blogs. They lift and encourage me each time I read one. You may not be perfect, but as the song goes, “you’re close enough to perfect for me,” and you are brightening and enlightening your world. Thank you so much! By the way, I have passed your book on to others (all three copies!), and each person who read it has been so blessed by the book. Again, thank you for all you do!
Wow, Joan, thank you. What a great post to start my work day!
Thank you for that great reminder. I love how you just tell it like it is.
I’m always working through comparing myself to my friends and family. I see where they’re at in life and think I should be there as well. Thank you Robyn for reminding me that it’s okay to be imperfect because we have a perfect God.
Hey Abby, those comparisons are a beast. Stay in your lane, Girlfriend. Rock the work you’re doing and let God whisper, “Well done,” in your ear.
I’m overcoming dis-ease by believing Jesus in me is enough. I’m also choosing to believe the good things people say about me. “You’re an amazing cook.” “Great teaching tonight. ” “You look so cute.” I respond with a smile and “Thank you. ” (I used to laugh and dismiss the compliment. ) I try to use the talents and gifts God has given to me to His glory and to bless others.
My husband is a perfectionist and expects me to be the same! That’s not me. I feel he is critiqing me all the time. When I’m working on something and it’s not turning out I always say Oh Well the Lord likes it! You did the right thing by taking the devilded eggs to the party