I have to be training for a marathon. I have to have the perfect job. I have to be amazing at my calling. I have to eat healthy and workout every day. I have to be the best roommate. I have to have an amazing social life! I have to be dating the perfect guy. I have to have a clean room and beautiful home. My children have to be perfectly behaved. My marriage should have no problems. I have to have to look like I have it together. I have to say yes no matter what. I have to be spiritually healthy all the time. I have to get all As in my classes...and the list goes on and on and on!
Just reading that I feel tired! But I feel like at times it is is easy to feel the need to be on our game every second of our lives in every aspect of our lives. We forget that we are human and we shouldn't and were never meant to "run faster than we are able." (D&C 10:4) But we expect that of ourselves even when we are facing hard trials!
Yes, we are expected to do our best, but there needs to be a balance in all things.It is unfair to demand perfection when it is not attainable in this life.
When I got COVID six weeks ago I had to quarantine like so many of you have had to do. Even though I was sicker than sick, I felt like I needed to be productive and be progressing in some way. It took a lot in me to realize that this was an opportunity to SLOW DOWN and not expect so much of myself. I needed to be patient with my body and not demand myself to do more than I was able. As much as I didn't like feeling like my life was on hold it gave me some time to reflect on how fast I had been running in my life, the unrealistic expectations I had for myself and the fact that I needed to be patient with my progress.
I can only imagine Jesus Christ trying to fit into our "perfect" lives. If we are focused on becoming perfect all on our own in our super busy life, we clearly don't need a Savior. This is how Satan can get us and blind us to what matters most. If we will but slow down, remember Jesus Christ and allow Him to be the most central and important part of our lives, He can make us more than we could EVER be on our own. President Russell M Nelson has told us that we must be "patient with ourselves. Perfection comes not in this life, but in the next life. Don't demand things that are unreasonable but demand of yourself improvement. As you let the Lord Help you, He will make the difference."
As much as I wish I wasn't guilty of perfectionism, I am always trying better to include Christ in my life and be patient with my quest to become my best self. If I sleep in one day or take a day off from running or drop the ball with my calling or have to say no because I'm overwhelmed, that is okay! I hope that in your and my journey towards perfection we can remember Jesus Christ and walk with Him and not sprint our own "perfect" course without Him beside us.
Challenge: Pray to God to know "What am I doing that I shouldn't be doing?" and then ask Him "What am I not doing that I should start doing?"
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